Speaker Ryan Says ‘Nyet’ to Protecting American Democracy

Tonight, the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee will vote to release Chairmen Devin Nunes' bogus memo, creating grave implications for our national security.  Just last week, that the Justice Department concluded that its release would be ‘extraordinarily reckless' and cause irreparable ‘harm to national security and to ongoing investigations.'

Clearly, House Republicans' desire to protect President Trump has clouded their judgement and caused them to lose sight of what's at stake: the security and integrity of our elections.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo recently admitted that Russia is currently working to undermine the upcoming elections, and ‘has been doing so for decades.'

And how have Congressional Republicans responded? The GOP has:

• Refused to hold full committee public hearings on Russian election interference in the Homeland Security and House Administration Committees, the two committees of jurisdiction;
• Failed to hold the Trump Administration accountable by joining Democrats to call on the Department of Homeland Security to hand over documents on election interference, forcing Democrats to request a subpoena;
• Wasted vast sums of taxpayer money to re-launch investigations into President Trump's political opponent in the election, Hillary Clinton, and ordered the Justice Department to do the same; and
• Led an all-out assault on DOJ and the FBI to undermine the credibility of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and spread doubt about the veracity of its findings.

Jennifer Rubin, conservative columnist at the Washington Post writes: Republican House leaders ‘set the tone for the nonstop assault on Mueller and the Justice Department, setting their caucus loose to create a fog of confusion.  They see their roles as the defense team for Trump, not the leaders of a co-equal branch of government obligated to check the excesses of the executive.'

New York Magazine stated it perfectly:

 ‘… A side effect of Nunes's campaign to discredit Trump's investigators is to threaten to burn down the credibility and effectiveness of federal law enforcement. Here is the point that is largely absent from this drama: This is all happening because Paul Ryan wants it to happen.

‘And now, Trump and his allies are circulating absurd lies about the Department of Justice in order to enable the administration to avoid any accountability to the rule of law. The heart of this campaign is the chamber Ryan controls. It is not only or even primarily Devin Nunes, The Wall Street Journal editorial page, and Fox & Friends that are marching into the fever swamps. The invisible man at front of the march is Paul Ryan.'

This unconscionable failure on the part of the Republican Congress falls squarely on Speaker Ryan's shoulders.  The Ryan-controlled House takes its orders from the Speaker.  He is responsible for how this Congress responds to two of the greatest threats facing American democracy today: foreign attacks on our elections and President Trump's assault on our rule of law.