Ex-intel chief: Nunes memo is a ‘hit job’

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in a Wednesday morning interview described the Republican memo alleging surveillance abuses at the Justice Department as “a hit job” meant to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference.

“Well, I think this is a hit job, more or less, to attack the FBI, attack the Department of Justice and inferentially, or by extension, the Mueller investigation. I think the whole point here was to discredit all this,” Clapper told CNN’s “New Day.”

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Clapper argued that the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own probe into Russia’s election meddling and any potential ties between Trump campaign members and the Kremlin, “is beyond hope at this point.”

Host Alisyn Camerota then asked the former intelligence chief if he believes the committee under the leadership of Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is “capable of doing its job.”

“I do not. Not in the manner in which it was intended,” Clapper replied. “Not used as a political lever to do a drive-by shooting in the interest of defending the president and the White House.”

Nunes led the charge to release a memo drafted by his staff that accuses the Justice Department of surveillance abuses, a move that angered Democrats, who hope to release their own countermemo this week.

The House Intelligence Committee on Monday voted unanimously to release the Democratic countermemo.

President Trump has five days to allow or block the document’s release.