A website titled after a controversial House Intelligence Committee memo written by Rep. Devin NunesDevin Gerald NunesSunday shows preview: Protests against George Floyd’s death, police brutality rock the nation for a second week Sunday shows preview: Leaders weigh in as country erupts in protest over George Floyd death The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – George Floyd’s death sparks protests, National Guard activation MORE (R-Calif.) now redirects to the homepage for his Democratic challenger’s campaign.
It was not immediately clear who created the redirect to Democrat Andrew Janz’s campaign website. The redirect was first noticed Tuesday afternoon. The nunesmemo.com domain name was purchased privately on Jan. 20.
Janz denied being behind the redirect in a comment to The Hill, but said he was “pleasantly surprised” by it.
“I’m proud to be running a campaign that’s inspiring people across the nation. I was pleasantly surprised to see www.nunesmemo.com redirect to my site. Devin Nunes might have Russian bots doing his bidding on Twitter but you can’t beat good old-fashioned people power,” Janz said.
The redirect of the site to Janz’s campaign comes as the House Intel committee voted this week to release the confidential memo.
Nunes, the chairman of the committee, crafted the memo along with his Republican colleagues. While the exact contents of the memo are unknown, it’s believed to show evidence of improper surveillance of Trump campaign advisers by the Justice Department.
President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE is expected to review the four-page document and decide upon its publication as early as this week.
While Nunes has described the memo as “facts,” Democrats have slammed it as a collection of misleading talking points they are unable to correct without exposing the highly classified information underpinning the document. Others say the publication of the memo could cause national security concerns.
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Janz, a criminal prosecutor for a district attorney in Fresno, Calif., has put Nunes’s claims of surveillance of communications involving Trump’s campaign team at the center of his bid for election in the state’s 22nd District.
“I’m not a politician; I’ve never considered running for Congress until recently,” Janz told The Fresno Bee in April of last year, adding that previous ethics concerns stemming from Nunes’s handling of classified information related to the Russia probe spurred him to run.
“I deal with confidential information on a daily basis,” Janz said. “I’m in a profession that’s all about ethics.”
Janz will challenge Nunes in a GOP-leaning district where 42.8 percent of voters identify as Republicans and only 32.8 percent identify as Democrats, according to the Bee. But a large percentage, more than 19, who have indicated no party preference could bolster Janz’s efforts.
Democrats have also expressed optimism at taking back red seats in the state.