Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the Nunes memo:

“I am stunned and dismayed by today’s release of the Nunes memo. One thing becomes immediately clear after reading the Nunes memo: It’s so poorly sourced and so clearly biased that it’s difficult to come up with any rational reason for its release.

“The manner in which this memo was put together and released should cause everyone to question what is being presented as fact. It’s the height of hypocrisy to release a classified memo in the name of transparency while at the same time blocking Democrats from releasing their contrary views.

“Even worse, the FBI and Justice Department were denied the opportunity to brief members on the classified information that supposedly underpins this selective and misleading memo, even after they voiced their strong objections to its release.

“This document is everything that is improper for any credible investigation into a set of facts and circumstances, and in my opinion puts an end to the majority’s ability to do any credible, fact-based intelligence assessments.

“The refusal to allow contrary evidence to be put forward is unprecedented. In my 17 years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know of no instance where additional views were refused, particularly in a situation where the underlying facts remain classified and unavailable for review.

“The Nunes memo is clearly intended to impugn the Steele dossier – of which no significant fact has been disproved – and to discredit the FBI, thereby creating an atmosphere in which the president can replace large numbers of individuals in law enforcement and the intelligence community and replace them with his own people.

“If any leader of the FBI or intelligence community is dismissed due to prejudicial information from this memo, with no opportunity to bring forward contradictory facts, that would raise serious questions of legality, not to mention abuse of power.”