The Morning Joe team skewered the GOP on Tuesday for making "a deal with the devil" after the House Intelligence Committee voted Monday to release a secret memo that reportedly accuses senior FBI officials of misusing their authority to obtain a surveillance order on President Trump's former campaign associate, Carter Page. "I understand Donald [Trump's position]," a disbelieving Joe Scarborough said. "He will take any sleazy tactic he can to save himself and his family from going to jail. But Paul Ryan? A guy from Janesville, Wisconsin. A guy I campaigned for in 1998 … What does he get out of this?"
Panelist Jim VandeHei didn't have much sympathy for House Republicans. "They made a deal with the devil and they feel good about it," he said. VandeHei further skewered House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) for ignoring warnings from the Department of Justice that releasing the memo would be "extraordinarily reckless."
"What Nunes did is unprecedented," VandeHei went on. "Never in the history of this committee has this committee voted to declassify classified material. Never."
Subscribe to 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.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski concluded: "Joe, Republicans seem to be on the yellow brick road."
"The yellow brick road to hell," Scarborough agreed, adding: "Bad things are going to happen to [Trump] legally. The Wizard of Oz didn't get indicted. The Wizard of Oz didn't go to jail." Watch below. Jeva Lange
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
