If anything, the release of the heavily redacted FISC applications supports the central claims of the Nunes memo, all of which have stood up to scrutiny thus far. Of course, the only way to properly evaluate the veracity of the Nunes memo is to read the unredacted FISC applications, which is not an option for us.
The central claims of the Nunes memo are:
1) The Steele dossier formed an essential part (but not the only part) of the evidence provided to justify surveillance of Carter Page.
2) Neither the initial FISC application nor any of the renewal applications referenced the role of the DNC, the Clinton campaign, or any political party or campaign in funding Steele’s efforts
3) Steele wanted Trump to lose the 2016 election, told Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr that he was “desperate that Donald Trump not get elected” and was “passionate about him not being president.” Ohr recorded this information but none of the Page FISC applications reflected Steele’s political bias.
4) At the same time Ohr’s wife (Nellie Ohr) was employed by Fusion GPS---the same company the Clinton campaign paid to produce the Steele dossier---to assist in opposition research on Trump.
5) Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified to the HPSCI that the Page warrant would not have been sought in the absence of the Steele dossier.
6) While the FISC applications relied on Steele’s past record of credibility on other matters, they ignored or concealed Steele’s known anti-Trump motivations (see (3), above)
More broadly, overuse of the FISA process should be an issue that Democrats and Republicans can agree on. From FISA’s enactment (1978) to the present, the FISC approval rate for surveillance applications is over 99.9%. Anyone who cares about civil liberties should be outraged about that.