Republican and Democratic congressmen agree: The memo doesn't 'totally vindicate' Trump

Republican and Democratic members of Congress on Sunday shows roundly rejected President Trump's Saturday claim that the Nunes memo "totally vindicates" him in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
GOP lawmakers — like Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) on This Week, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Face the Nation, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) on Fox News Sunday, and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) on State of the Union — tended to echo the Wall Street Journal editorial board's argument that the memo's revelations are important for surveillance policy but demonstrate nothing about Mueller's investigation.
Democrats likewise rejected the vindication argument, but went one step further. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) emphatically denied Trump's claim on CNN and called for the release of a Democratic response memo, while Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on ABC the memo actually demonstrates Trump's guilt of collusion with Russia.
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.
Watch excerpts from Hurd and Durbin below. Bonnie Kristian
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir: making the personal political
Talking Point Former Scottish first minister attempts to set record straight in 'Frankly' but does she leave more questions than answers?
-
Trump-Putin: would land swap deal end Ukraine war?
Today's Big Question Ukraine ready to make 'painful but acceptable' territorial concessions – but it still might not be enough for Vladimir Putin
-
The truth about sunscreen
The Explainer The science behind influencer claims that sun cream is toxic
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crime
Speed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats