From spying on Martin Luther King Jr. to surveilling Americans citizens under the PATRIOT Act, the FBI has been abusing its powers since its inception in 1908. Politicians routinely turn a blind eye to such misdeeds. So, the sudden interest from congressional Republicans in releasing a memo that supposedly highlights surveillance abuses by the FBI under former President Barack Obama amounts to nothing more than politically convenient hypocrisy.

The House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines Monday to release the memo, and now the final decision is left to President Trump. Putting the four-page document out in public would be a win for civil libertarians, but the Republican push is nothing more than political theatre, and more important, is unlikely to have any serious impact on spying laws in this country.