Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo

In a sign of a growing rift within the House GOP, four members of the panel dismissed the idea pushed by Trump and other Republicans that a controversial memo criticizing how the FBI handled elements of its Russia probe undermines the investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III into possible coordination between Trump associates and the Kremlin. The memo's release Friday by the Intelligence Committee has raised fears Trump will fire Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the probe.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who helped draft the memo, said Trump should not fire Rosenstein and rejected the idea that the document has bearing on the investigation.

"I actually don't think it has any impact on the Russia probe," Gowdy, who also chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

The four Republicans walked a careful line on the four-page document, which alleges that the Justice Department abused its powers by obtaining a warrant for surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page using information from a source who was biased against Trump. Their comments echoed those of Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who supported the memo's release on the argument that it lays out a "specific, legitimate" concern related to secret surveillance orders, but has insisted the findings do not impugn Mueller or Rosenstein.