Joint HPSCI Democratic Members Statement on Republican Talking Points Document

Statement

Today, all Democratic Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence -- Reps. Adam Schiff, Jim Himes, Terri Sewell, André Carson, Jackie Speier, Mike Quigley, Eric Swalwell, Joaquin Castro and Denny Heck -- released the following statement:

"Yesterday, HPSCI Republicans voted to make available to any Member of the House a misleading set of talking points attacking the FBI. They did so as a prelude to seeking the talking points' public release -- for the political purpose of spreading a false narrative and undermining legitimate investigations.

"The documents that supposedly inform these talking points are highly classified. And they will not be made public, making it impossible for the few Members who have seen the documents to explain the flaws and misstatements contained within the talking points without disclosing our most closely held intelligence sources and methods. This is by design.

"Not surprisingly, the GOP campaign to attack the FBI now has been joined by the same forces that made common cause during the Trump campaign -- Wikileaks, Julian Assange and a multitude of online Russian bots are now involved in promoting this effort. It should be seen for what it so plainly is: yet another desperate and flailing attempt to undermine Special Counsel Mueller and the FBI, regardless of the profound damage it does to our democratic institutions and national security agencies."