John McCain Turns On GOP In Historic Response To Nunes Memo Release (VIDEO)

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On Friday, the president officially moved to release the so-called Nunes memo, which alleges abuses of investigative power in the nation’s justice system. The memo was crafted as the product of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’ months long sham investigation into the nation’s justice system, and its premise is that the FBI used partisan, biased information in pursuing their investigation of the Trump team for possible cooperation with Russian government interests in their election meddling efforts.

Nunes’ investigation is only one front in the GOP’s ongoing efforts to discredit the nation’s justice system in order to avoid the scrutiny of the Russia investigation, and Republican Senator from Arizona — and former Republican presidential nominee — John McCain has had enough.

On Friday, he released a biting statement slamming those Republicans both responsible for the memo and pushing for its release, saying they’re “doing Putin’s job for him.”

Beginning by addressing the facts of Russian efforts to meddle in our elections, Senator McCain commented grimly:

‘In 2016, the Russians engaged in an elaborate plot to interfere in an American election and undermine our democracy. While we have no evidence these efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling discord and dividing us from one another.’

The president has often himself both discounted the evidence of Russian meddling in our political systems and worked to sow “discord” through his endless incendiary commentary.

Although, as McCain mentions, the Russians did not seemingly change any actual elections data — in other words, there really were about as many votes cast for the respective candidates as reported — they did wage a documented propaganda campaign against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Donald Trump.

The president has routinely denied the significance of this, leaving us vulnerable to more — and possibly more intense — information warfare attacks in the future.

Sen. McCain wasn’t finished, going on to explain that through not only such actions as Trump’s dismissal of the significance of Russian meddling but also through more active undercuts to the nation’s justice system in light of the Russia investigations, Republicans are “doing Putin’s job” of sowing “discord” for him.

The Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman stated:

‘The latest attacks on the FBI and Justice serve no American interests — no party’s, no president’s, only Putin. The American people must know all the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why special counsel Mueller’s investigation must continue unimpeded… If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.’

Trump could not at all be considered to be on board with McCain’s sentiment, considering both his past attacks on the Justice Department and his Friday decision to sign off on the public release of the Nunes memo.

The FBI itself — allowed to see the memo for the first time earlier this week before its release — has spoken out against Nunes’ efforts, asserting that he’s avoided key facts.

Even still, Nunes and the Republicans have pressed on anyway, acting apparently as though — even though this is America — not only is the FBI guilty, but it’s not acceptable for them to say anything for themselves through the course of this scandal.

McCain has made opposition to the national Republican Party’s course of action known in the past, such as in the case of their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which McCain opposed because of the lack of Democratic input.

Featured Image via Andrew Harrer/ Bloomberg via Getty Images