Former intel chief James Clapper shreds the Nunes memo as a 'blatant political act'

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Friday shredded the memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) as being a "blatant political act" intended to smear the FBI.

During a CNN interview, Clapper said that releasing the Nunes memo wasn't a bid for "transparency" because it contained key omissions of fact and would not show any underlying information that could undercut its most explosive claims.

"Transparency is a great thing, but let's be factual and objective about it, and this clearly is a pretty blatant political act," said Clapper.

Clapper also called out President Donald Trump for tweeting that his own appointed leaders at the FBI and Department of Justice had "tainted" the investigative process by signing off on investigations against him and his campaign.

"It strikes me as the pot calling the kettle black," he said. "I think this is almost amusing if it weren't such a serious subject."

Clapper went on to say he was glad that FBI Director Christopher Wray defended his agency and he said that he hopes the agency as a whole "takes the opportunity to rebut the memo."

The FBI on Wednesday issued an extraordinary statement slamming the Nunes memo as based on cherry-picked intelligence and called its conclusions misleading. Despite this, the president is still expected to release the memo.