2 NJ Congressmen Had Very Different Reactions To Nunes Memo

Two New Jersey congressmen had very different reactions to the House Republicans' release of a memo that alleges FBI abuses of its surveillance authority.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, blasted the release of the memo from the GOP and Rep. Devin Nunes – a decision that came with President Trump's blessing - and called it "a moment of extreme period for our country."

"President Trump and his allies in Congress are stopping at nothing to interfere with the special counsel’s Russia probe, even if it means putting the safety of the American public at risk, and degrading the rule of law," he said in a statement.

The memo alleges then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the House Intelligence Committee that a disputed opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia fueled attempts to seek a surveillance warrant for a Trump campaign aide.

Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-Burlington, on the other hand, said the allegations in the memo "are serious, but must not be used to impugn the good men and women at the FBI or discredit the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller."

"Anytime we are talking about abuse of government, the American people need to know, especially when there is an allegation of an American citizen’s rights being curtailed," he said in a statement. "Congress must not allow this to become a distraction from the work we need to do to continue to grow our economy and secure our national defense. "

Booker, however, said the memo release is doing the "bidding of President Trump."

"Congressman Nunes is engaging in willfully reckless, partisan, and obstructive behavior," he said. "His memo was written and selectively edited by those with a clear agenda of protecting Trump above all else, even our national security."

Booker noted that he and Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-SC are authors of the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a judicial check on the executive branch’s ability to remove a special counsel.

Image via Gage Skidmore