Did the Nunes memo undermine its own core argument?
CNN)Beyond the controversy over the timing, wisdom and true purpose of its Friday release, the Republican memo alleging anti-Trump corruption at the FBI and Justice Department contains one remarkable detail that undermines its core assertion.
In the first two sentences of the document's final paragraph, its authors note that the application to monitor former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page included a reference to another former campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos.
It goes on to confirm, in the next sentence, earlier reports that the same "information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok."
That the Papadopoulos "information" also played some role in helping to secure the FBI's desired warrant throws into doubt claims by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and other Republicans that law enforcement officials leaned too heavily on the contents of a dossier funded, indirectly, by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
The timeline here is key.
http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/02/politics/nunes-republican-memo-papadopoulos-page/index.html?
