CNN's Wolf Blitzer tears into Republican congressman over the release of the Nunes memo
Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart did not stand a chance on Friday when facing a spitting mad Wolf Blitzer on CNN. The interview followed President Trump's decision to release a controversial memo that alleges his former campaign adviser, Carter Page, was improperly surveilled by the government. The FBI and Justice Department have expressed "grave concerns" about the memo's accuracy.
Blitzer furiously challenged Stewart — a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which used an obscure rule in order to declassify the memo — on the partisanship in of the process. "You voted in favor of releasing the Republican report right away," Blitzer said. "You didn't vote in favor of releasing the Democratic report right away."
Stewart, managing to get a word in edgewise, asked: "Wolf, why are we talking about that instead of talking about the contents of this memo? This is a remarkable — "
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That set Blitzer off on a rant. "Because the contents of the memo, congressman, the contents of the memo are being seen as political," he said, adding: "So this has seen by at least a big chunk of the American public, congressman, as being a politicized moment in American history, which you could have avoided by simply releasing both memos at the same time, which has always been the case."
Blitzer later told Stewart, shaking his head, that "you must be very upset that your committee has now been blown apart. Going back many, many decades, I've never seen the House Intelligence Committee so partisan as it has become over the last several months." Watch the uncomfortable debate below. Jeva Lange
-
‘No Other Choice,’ ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ and ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’Feature A victim of downsizing turns murderous, an angry Indiana man takes a lender hostage, and a portrait of family by way of three awkward gatherings
-
Political cartoons for January 11Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include green energy, a simple plan, and more
-
The launch of the world’s first weight-loss pillSpeed Read Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been racing to release the first GLP-1 pill
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
