Kay Tur calls BS on Paul Ryan for claiming memo is about protecting 'civil liberties'

MSNBC's Katy Tur on Monday called out House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) for his assertion that the GOP is intent on releasing the House Intelligence Committee's anti-FBI memo in the interest of protecting civil liberties.

"This is so far afield from what I remember Republicans doing in the early 2000's when it came to the Patriot Act," the host said. "There was no way to put any sort of pressure or constraint on the intelligence community because it was protecting the homeland and protecting Americans."

While the memo may not reveal the FBI's sources or methods, it does reportedly include what was involved in getting a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Tur noted.

"That's ok to release to the public?" she mused.

The controversial memo is said to focus on the FBI obtaining a FISA warrant to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who former FBI agent Clint Watts noted had been on the bureau's radar for his work in Russia. Republicans in favor of the memo's release, including Ryan, suggest the document proves the DOJ handled Page's FISA warrant in a biased way.

Watch below, via MSNBC: