No honor among thieves?

When Rep. Devin Nunes decided to draft a memo that he felt would be damning enough to bring down the FBI and derail the Russia probe, he got plenty of his Republican colleagues to stir up the waters surrounding it, but they should have got some guarantees, up front.

Like, would they all be in on the joke, once the dirty work was done?

From the Washington Examiner:

 Staff for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., have not been able to review a memo spearheaded by the leader of the House Intelligence Committee that allegedly details abuses of a government surveillance program, according to a report.

Sources told CNN that Burr’s staff have asked for a copy of the four-page memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who leads the House Intelligence Committee, but have been denied access.

Wait… these are fellow Republicans. Presumably, they’re in line with Nunes’ mission.

First we hear they want give a copy to the FBI, so that the organization can see what they’re being accused of. Now, not even fellow Republicans can get a peek.

This mystery memo supposedly details about how the FBI and Justice Department have abused a government surveillance program, in order to spy on Trump’s team and bring down the Trump presidency.

Pretty spooky stuff, and it’s all contained in 4, short pages.

House Democrats just ain’t buying it.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the memo “a profoundly misleading set of talking points drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI and its handling of the investigation.”

Democrats in the House Intelligence Committee are putting together their own memo, as a response to Nunes’ project of love.

House Intel voted last week to give access to the memo to all lower chamber members.

Burr declined to discuss the document or confirm to CNN whether his staff had been able to examine it.

“It’s Devin’s memo so you need to ask him what it means,” he said. “I sort of don’t discuss anything that is part of our investigation, so I’ll leave it up to him to describe.”

Burr, however, is not alone in the dark, when it comes to Nunes’ magical, mystery memo. Other senators want to see it, but can’t. The FBI wants to see it, but can’t. The Department of Justice wants to see it, but can’t.

Do you detect a pattern?

“None of the senators have access to it,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday he believes the intelligence used to draft the memo should be released.

“Based on what I know, I agree that as much of this information should be made public as soon as possible through the appropriate process,” he said, according to CNN.

Based on what he knows, that is.

Senator Rand Paul has likewise been rejected, when he reached out to get a peek at this hot, hot item Nunes has so carefully cobbled together out of thin air.

All 4 pages.

They keep talking about releasing the memo. They keep turning the heat up on the public. The way it looks now, however, it’s a lot of buildup, and when even those who might otherwise be on the side of the president request a look and are told “no,” you have to wonder why something with this much word-of-mouth is being hidden away.

Trust me, if there was anything there that would assure Trump’s innocence, Nunes would have rushed it out the moment he got his hands on it.

All of this is theater.