Sen. John McCain
John Sidney McCainAn end game on Supreme Court nominations Supreme Court talk dominates Sunday shows as Trump nears decision Hysteria about the Supreme Court vacancy isn't about abortion — it's about reparations MORE (R-Ariz.) fired back on Friday against growing criticism from President Trump
Donald John TrumpMichelle Wolf in July Fourth salute: 'God bless abortions and God bless America' Graham: Trump's Supreme Court picks 'all winners' Man arrested after allegedly threatening to kill Trump supporters, GOP lawmaker MORE and GOP lawmakers of the FBI, warning they are only bolstering Russian President Vladimir Putin.
McCain's comments come as a controversial Republican memo accusing the Department of Justice and the FBI of "shocking" abuses of power is expected to be released shortly.
"Elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this [Russia] investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows," McCain said in a statement.
He added that "the latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests — no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s."
A White House spokesperson said on Friday that the president has approved the release of the memo, compiled for Rep. Devin Nunes
Devin Gerald NunesReagan would denounce Trump’s attacks on NATO, democratic allies Hillicon Valley: Foreign spying comes under new scrutiny | How Yelp became a political weapon | NYC weighs minimum wage for Uber, Lyft drivers | Facebook apologizes for privacy bug Nunes to LeBron: Brace yourself for California's taxes MORE (R-Calif.). The memo is said to contain allegations of the FBI improperly surveilling a Trump campaign aide's communications.
Trump has seized on the memo as evidence of bias in the top ranks of the intelligence community.
"The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans — something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people," he said in a tweet.
But McCain fired back on the GOP attacks, warning that the rhetoric is doing long-term damage to the country.
"If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him," he said.
He added: "While we have no evidence that these [Russian] efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling political discord and dividing us from one another."
GOP leadership has tried to separate the GOP-compiled memo from special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE's investigation.
"This memo is not an indictment of the FBI or the Justice Department. It does not impugn the Mueller investigation," House Speaker Paul Ryan
Paul Davis RyanPaul Ryan ‘will await the findings’ of Jim Jordan investigation Overnight Health Care: Trump officials want more time to reunite families | Washington braces for Supreme Court pick | Nebraska could be next state to vote on Medicaid expansion Dems call on Ryan to provide free feminine hygiene products in House bathrooms MORE (R-Wis.) told reporters on Thursday.
But multiple sources told CNN that Trump believes the memo will help discredit the Russia investigation.
