"I've got the memo right here. And frankly, if folks haven't read it, they should."

Today, Senators Coons and McCain are introducing legislation to address DACA and border security. Their legislation aims to fix DACA, invest in border security, and allow Congress to devote full attention to finalizing a budget deal that fully funds the military and domestic programs.

Text of the Nunes memo is here.

“I’m deeply honored that Senator McCain reached out to me, someone who has long been known as a very forceful advocate for full funding for the Department of Defense. He’s trying to join with me and get this immigration conversation restarted in a positive direction in the Senate,” said Senator Coons.

“This is a copy of the bill that has been championed in the House by Republican Congressman Will Hurd who has 800 miles of Texas border in his district near El Paso and Pete Aguilar of Southern California.

It has 27 Republican cosponsors and 27 Democratic cosponsors in the House. So, in an environment where it’s often said oh, this or that proposal can’t pass the House, it’s important to focus on the fact that this bill that we are introducing today that Senator McCain and I are introducing in the Senate already has a block of Republican cosponsors about the same size as the Freedom Caucus.”

On the Nunes memo:

Well, Joe, that sounds a lot like the Patriots in the Super Bowl last night. A lot was promised, but not enough was delivered. It’s a great morning to be in Philadelphia. And I’ll tell you, I have the same reaction to the memo by Devin Nunes that you do. I’ve got the memo right here. And frankly, if folks haven’t read it, they should.

Because it doesn’t provide the vindication President Trump is claiming. It makes it clear, in fact, that the investigation was well underway before the Steele dossier was ever brought forward and it points to Papadopoulos, another Trump campaign aide who pled guilty and is cooperating as the source of the initial intelligence that began the investigation into the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

I am encouraged, Joe, that there are a few Republicans like Trey Gowdy saying on the Sunday shows and in public that this doesn’t have anything to do with trying to undermine or derail Robert Mueller’s investigation.

My partner in immigration legislation, John McCain, a general hero of the Vietnam War that you were just referencing, said the President is not doing enough to stand up to Russia, that the investigation being led by Robert Mueller should go on and that this memo shouldn’t be allowed to distract from it.

I think we should be seeing a release of the Democratic memo once properly vetted by the DOJ and FBI. I think it will provide a thorough counterpoint and I think it is rooted in the intelligence that the Nunes memo wasn’t. Devin Nunes, the chairman of House intelligence, has made it clear he didn’t even read the underlying intelligence. Trey Gowdy did. And I think therein lies the difference between how the two of them are characterizing this brief and partisan and misleading memo.

On McCain-Coons immigration compromise:

First, I’m deeply honored that Senator McCain reached out to me, someone who has long been known as a very forceful advocate for full funding for the Department of Defense. He’s trying to join with me and get this immigration conversation restarted in a positive direction in the Senate.

This is a copy of the bill that has been championed in the House by Republican Congressman Will Hurd who has 800 miles of Texas border in his district near El Paso and Pete Aguilar of southern California. It has 27 Republican cosponsors and 27 Democratic cosponsors in the House. So, in an environment where it’s often said oh, this or that proposal can’t pass the House, it’s important to focus on the fact that this bill that we are introducing today that Senator McCain and I are introducing in the Senate already has a block of Republican cosponsors about the same size as the Freedom Caucus. You are right in your question, it needs more border investment. It lays out a plan, a pathway, towards securing control of the border by 2020. And I expect that in order for this to be embraced by Republicans as the solution that will get us moving forward towards fully funding domestic and defense spending, we will need to add some border funding to it.