--- title: Trump Is Releasing the Nunes Memo. Some Republicans Say No description: Not all Republicans are clamoring for the release of a controversial GOP memo. Here's what the dissenters are saying. canonical: https://time.com/5130286/devin-nunes-memo-republican-party/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-02T15:20:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T22:22:55.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: These Are the Republicans Speaking Out Against Trump's Release of the Nunes Memo og:description: "There are important national security considerations they need to weigh og:url: https://time.com/5130286/devin-nunes-memo-republican-party/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta40cd925d0f9200f/6988fa5797cdff2c846b4273/jeff-flake-john-thune-nunes-memo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: jeff-flake-john-thune-nunes-memo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are the Republicans Speaking Out Against Trump's Release of the Nunes Memo twitter:description: "There are important national security considerations they need to weigh twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta40cd925d0f9200f/6988fa5797cdff2c846b4273/jeff-flake-john-thune-nunes-memo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are the Republicans Speaking Out Against Trump's Release of the Nunes Memo > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:22 PM UTCPublished: Feb 2, 2018 3:20 PM UTC  Chris Kleponis—Sipa USA/AP; Samuel Corum—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:22 PM UTCPublished: Feb 2, 2018 3:20 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Friday [authorized the release](http://time.com/5128772/trump-nunes-memo-release/) of [a controversial memo](http://time.com/5124808/gop-memo-what-to-know/) that reportedly accuses the FBI of abusing its surveillance powers in its investigation into whether Trump’s presidential campaign colluded in Russian election meddling. The memo is expected to become public later on Friday. The memo, which follows an investigation directed by Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes of California, has been touted by Republican lawmakers and conservative media figures as confirmation of supposed political bias against Trump among the country’s top law enforcement officials. Trump’s own [FBI and Justice Department have warned that releasing the memo would be “reckless,”](http://time.com/5127312/nunes-memo-release-fbi-concerns/) and Democrats have painted it as a misleadingly cherry-picked reading of the facts without context. Not all Republicans are clamoring for its release. Here’s what the GOP dissenters are saying. ## Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona [Jeff Flake](http://time.com/4895012/jeff-flake-republican-senator-arizona/), the maverick junior Senator from Arizona and frequent Trump critic who is not seeking reelection, released [a joint statement](https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9997A536-54B0-4E11-9EB0-272E9C326145) Thursday with Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, urging Trump not to allow the release of the memo. “President Trump should heed the warnings of the Justice Department and FBI, and reverse his reported decision to defy longstanding policies regarding the disclosure of classified information,” Flake and Coons said. “The president’s apparent willingness to release this memo risks undermining U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts, politicizing Congress’ oversight role, and eroding confidence in our institutions of government.” ## Sen. John Thune of South Dakota John Thune — who, as chair of the Senate Republican Conference, is the third-ranking GOP Senator — urged his party to proceed with caution on the memo in remarks made to reporters on Thursday. “I think the Senate Intelligence Committee needs to see it, for sure,” Thune said, in remarks reported by [_The Hill_](http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/371774-senate-gop-leader-cautions-nunes-on-fbi-memo)_._ “There are important national security considerations they need to weigh, and hopefully they’re doing that.” ## Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina In an interview with ABC News’ _This Week,_ Graham said that the memo warranted greater scrutiny before its release. “I want somebody outside of the Republican-led Congress to look at the allegations,” Graham said. “I’m not asking that Lindsey Graham be the final arbiter of whether the F.B.I. and D.O.J. were off-base. \[But\] no, I don’t want it released yet.” ## Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania Speaking with a reporter from NBC News at the annual Republican retreat in West Virginia, Dent suggested that releasing the memo could jeopardize intelligence security. “We run the risk of exposing some sensitive sources and methods,” Dent told [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/some-republicans-uneasy-trump-releasing-russia-memo-n843866). “I read the memos… and I would rather not release them.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5130286/devin-nunes-memo-republican-party/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5130286/devin-nunes-memo-republican-party/"},"headline":"These Are the Republicans Speaking Out Against Trump's Release of the Nunes Memo","datePublished":"2018-02-02T15:20:02.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:22:55.000Z","description":"Not all Republicans are clamoring for the release of a controversial GOP memo. 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