Paul Ryan was talking to a group of reporters earlier today on the State of the Union Address, the #ReleaseTheMemo story, and other things and inadvertently set off a maelstrom of fear and panic.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called Tuesday to “cleanse” the FBI as he openly backed the release of a controversial memo that purportedly details alleged surveillance abuses by the U.S. government.

“Let it all out, get it all out there. Cleanse the organization,” Ryan, R-Wis., said.

He added: “I think we should disclose all this stuff. It’s the best disinfectant. Accountability, transparency — for the sake of the reputation of our institutions.”

The striking remarks came at a breakfast with anchors and reporters ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address; much of the session was off the record.

Ryan spoke on the record to address the controversy over the House Intelligence Committee voting late Monday to make public the surveillance memo.

Ryan said “we should disclose,” and “disclosure is the way to go.”

He said problems at the FBI and the Justice Department should be cleaned out, while “covering up mischief would be worse.”

By the time the left and anti-Trump, to the extent they are different, Twitter got a hold of it, you’d have thought the rifles were barking and the corpses were being carried out of the basement of the Hoover Building.

Paul Ryan says releasing the Republican memo could help "cleanse" the FBI, using the same language as Jeanine Pirro, who said there's a "cleansing needed." https://t.co/ujIYvqlEVG

— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) January 30, 2018

Speaker of the House joins war on FBI https://t.co/JTNQebOSRc

— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) January 30, 2018

House Speaker Paul Ryan called Tuesday to “cleanse” the FBI as he openly backed the release of a controversial… https://t.co/5cA6XFwDk6

— Special Report Team (@SpecialReport) January 30, 2018

Paul Ryan is playing active role in the GOP’s seditious conspiracy to “cleanse” the #FBI: “Let it all out, get it all out there. Cleanse the organization.”🤬#RICO#TrumpRussiahttps://t.co/7S1oFtgo3T

— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) January 30, 2018

Paul Ryan: Release the Nunes memo to 'cleanse' the FBI https://t.co/Ug6D06dIeI

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 30, 2018

Former RedStater Dan McLaughlin has stolen my take:

Seeing a lot of unhinged alarmism about this quote from Paul Ryan, reported by Fox News, in which – if you actually read it – he calls for disclosure and transparency in government https://t.co/yeDXBKd93o pic.twitter.com/TQzCXYV1TP

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 30, 2018

By any standard, the FBI is in desperate need of a housecleaning. The documents and texts released so far show an agency that was literally afraid to investigate Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information because they were afraid of what would happen when she became president.

We know Comey had decided to clear Clinton in May, when he began drafting his memo, even though Clinton, herself, was not interviewed until early July. We don’t know what is in the Intelligence Committee memo yet, but it is purported to show how the FBI used a dubious document, the Trump dossier, to start an investigation of the Trump campaign. And the FBI has lied and obfuscated efforts by the House and Senate to investigate. It took a threat of citing the FBI director and the deputy AG for contempt of Congress before they complied with House subpoenas.

Transparency is good. Getting rid of people who did not serve the FBI and the nation well is good. Being clean is good.