U.S. House speaker backs release of House panel Democrats' memo

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks at a news conference with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan supports the release of a rebuttal memo by Democrats on the House Intelligence committee to go along with a controversial Republican one likely to be released soon, his office said on Friday.

"If it is scrubbed to ensure it does not reveal sources and methods of our intelligence gathering, the speaker supports the release of the Democrats' memo," Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.

(Reporting by Justin Mitchell; Editing by Susan Heavey and Chizu Nomiyama)