Just the fact that there is this “..... touched off a partisan debate in Washington (D.C.)......” is troubling.
There is absolutely no so-called middle ground here.
What we’ve learned (well, since GW’s 2000 election) is that Democrats and the Left will never ever cede ground. And they expect Republicans and the Right to meet them at their chosen goal post.
And Republicans and some “on the Right” are happy to oblige.
The Dems have invested everything they have into this bogus Russian "collusion" story, and now its all falling apart in a spectacular way. Even so, they don't want to give it up, because so much was riding on these lies being true. Overwhelming realities will force them to give it up soon. When McCabe and Strzok take the 5th when they're forced to testify before congress in a week or two, a lot of balloons are going to pop.