Lookups for spurious spiked on January 31, 2018, when House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes used the word in his response to a rare FBI request. The FBI asked that a controversial secret memo prepared by Republican staffers for the committee not be released to the public because of “omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” The memo concerns the investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign, and its release could contribute to a Republican effort to discredit the FBI as it proceeds with that investigation.
Nunes issued a statement that said:
Having stonewalled Congress’ demands for information for nearly a year, it’s no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies.
Spurious means “false” or “not genuine” as well as “of a deceitful nature or quality.” Its earliest use in English corresponds to its original meaning in Latin: “of illegitimate birth.”
