If you’re still clinging, like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood, to the hope of the very-partisan, dubious Nunes memo to save Trump from the Russia probe, you can go ahead and let the tide take you away, because according to Trey Gowdy, that dossier has nothing to do with the Russia probe, at this point.

Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” this morning, the soon-to-be-retired South Carolina congressman addressed the Fusion GPS dossier and what it means for the ongoing investigation.

From Axios:

 There is a Russia investigation without a dossier… the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica. The dossier really has nothing to do with George Papadopoulos’ meeting in Great Britain. It also doesn’t have anything to do with obstruction of justice.

That’s pretty cut-and-dried, no?

Gowdy, who did the research and offered legal advice in the drafting of the Nunes memo doesn’t see the problem in releasing it, even though officials with the DOJ and FBI advised against it, saying it was inaccurate in some areas, and had some important omissions.

And while the outspoken Gowdy felt the use of the dossier to obtain a warrant on former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page was inappropriate, it wasn’t to the point of shutting down anything, nor does it discredit the FBI and Justice Department.

He also went on to say he has complete confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and special counsel Robert Mueller.

On Andy McCabe, who stepped down recently as Deputy FBI Director: “I found him to be a professional witness even though I disagree with some of the decisions he made. And I think we’ve got to get to some point in life where you can disagree with the decision-making process that someone engaged in, without believing that they are corrupt or somehow part of the ‘deep state’, whatever that means.”

YES!!

And if your bottom lip is resting on your chest and you’re confused about what he’s saying here, he goes further, in explaining why he’s leaving Washington behind.

“I enjoy the justice system more. I enjoy being fair. I enjoy the pursuit of fairness as a virtue and I’m just more comfortable in that system.”

Emphasis mine.

The partisanship has killed off the allure of Congress. Reports last week, immediately following his announcement were that he’d found himself butting heads with his fellow Republicans on the House Intel Committee (in particular, with Devin Nunes) and it was no longer worth it.

I’m not going to say he’s at the same place I am, in that the acceptance of Donald Trump as the face of the GOP pulled the mask off and showed that there’s really no difference in either of the big 2 parties, and neither represent conservatism.

It does seem, however, that we’re of the same mind that the partisan fight is keeping us from moving forward.

Trey Gowdy is a rare breed in Washington. He will be missed.