Maddow on memo: ‘This is it?’

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow unloaded on Republicans Friday night over the release of the House Intelligence Committee memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses by the FBI.

In a monologue on her show, Maddow mocked the GOP for hyping the document’s release for weeks. Maddow said it was actually a huge letdown.

{mosads}

“That’s it?” she asked at the top of her show, laughing. “That’s all they’ve got? This was what all of the hype was about? For what is it, two weeks now they’ve been hyping this?”

“You know, I hyped that I had Donald Trump’s tax returns, then I clarified that I actually had two pages of Donald Trump’s tax returns for one hour before I actually released what actually were two pages of Donald Trump’s tax returns,” Maddow continued. “For a year now, people have been telling me that was unconscionable hype about Donald Trump’s tax returns. But you know what? At least those actually were Donald Trump’s tax returns, even if they were boring.”

The MSNBC host went on to attack Republicans in Congress and in the media for claiming the memo would “fix” the Trump presidency by ending the Russia investigation.

“This memo will make Donald Trump innocent. This memo will put Robert Mueller in jail. It’ll abolish the FBI!” Maddow exclaimed, imitating the document’s supporters in Congress. “I can’t believe this is it.”

The House Intelligence Committee released the four-page document on Friday following President Trump’s approval. It accuses Justice Department personnel of using unverified, politically funded information to begin surveillance of Carter Page, a former member of the Trump campaign.

Republicans say the document proves the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which is now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, is tainted by bias.

Trump tweeted Saturday morning that the memo’s release vindicates him, proving there was “no collusion and there was no obstruction,” the president said.

“This memo totally vindicates ‘Trump’ in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on,” Trump tweeted. “Their [sic] was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!” Trump tweeted.

Critics note the memo also indicates that the probe was prompted by information the bureau obtained about George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to the campaign, three months prior to the surveillance application on Page.