John McCain may be missing from the Senate as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer, but the Arizona senator is speaking out to condemn what he calls partisan attacks on the FBI. He says the controversy over the handling of the Russia investigation isn’t helping anyone but the Russians.

In a statement, McCain issued a rebuke of fellow Republicans for authorizing the release of the classified memo that alleged misconduct by the FBI, appealing to GOP leaders and President Donald Trump to cease “manufacturing partisan sideshows.” 

After Trump tweeted that investigators “politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats” McCain responded that the latest attacks on the bureau and Department of Justice “serve no American interests, only (Vladimir) Putin’s” while insisting that special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation must proceed unimpeded.

McCain missed this week’s State of the Union address, and there is no word on when he might return to the Senate.

According to his daughter Meghan, the 81-year-old remains at the family ranch in Sedona as he receives treatment for a glioblastoma diagnosed last summer.