The House Intelligence Committee voted on Monday evening to declassify the memo, which was written by Republicans. Trump then authorized its release.
Win McNamee/Pool via AP; AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File
The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released the once-secret Republican memo that has been a flashpoint in American politics for weeks, after President Trump decided that it should be made public.
The memo is at the center of a controversy over the Justice Department’s investigation of possible collusion between the Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government.
Media reports have so far said that the four-page memo reportedly details how Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein green-lighted an application for the extended surveillance of former foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, Carter Page. Republicans contend that Justice Department officials didn’t adequately explain to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that the application relied on information from former British MI16 intelligence official Christopher Steele, who wrote a dossier that alleged Trump-Kremlin links.
The Steele dossier was partially funded by the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton. The dossier was first published by BuzzFeed News last January after security officials had briefed then-president Barack Obama and Trump about it.
Congressional Republicans, much to the dismay of the Justice Department, have supported the release of the memo in hopes that it will show that the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections was biased in its early stages. Democrats contend the memo just cherry picks information from the underlying intelligence it is based on.
And in a sharp rebuke to House Republicans on Wednesday, the FBI released a statement saying it has “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” It added, “The FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it.”
Trump authorized the declassification of the memo on Friday, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “a lot of people should be ashamed.” Earlier, he tweeted, “The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!”
Republican Sen. John McCain slammed what he said were “partisan attacks” on the FBI and DOJ. “Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows,” McCain said in a statement. “If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.”
When asked Friday if he would fire Rosenstein, who is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Trump said, “You figure that one out.”
The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday night to release the memo, sending the decision to Trump. The president had five days to object to the memo’s release. If he didn’t, the committee could then release the document.
On Tuesday, while he was leaving his State of the Union address, South Carolina Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan encouraged Trump to release the memo. “Oh, don’t worry, 100 percent,” Trump responded. “Could you imagine?” Trump added, pointing to someone nearby. “He’d be too angry.”
And in a twist late Wednesday night, Rep. Adam Schiff, who served on the House Intelligence Committee tweeted there were changes made to the memo before it was submitted to the White House for possible release.
However, Republicans on the committee said the changes were “minor edits,” like grammatical fixes.
Still, Democrats want to recall the memo from the White House, and the House’s top Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, tweeted that the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, should be removed.
CBS News reported on Thursday that the White House will make redactions to the memo, then return it to the House committee for release “on its timetable.” A top Republican Senator also tried to slow the process down.
LINK: Here's What You Need To Know About That Republican Trump-Russia Memo
LINK: The FBI Says It Has “Grave Concerns” About House Republicans’ FISA Memo
LINK: Suspicion, Not Proof, Is Enough For A FISA Warrant
LINK: Democrat Accuses Republicans Of Secretly Changing Memo, Demands They Withdraw It
LINK: Senators Don't Share House Republicans' Enthusiasm For #ReleaseTheMemo
LINK: Trump's Justice Department Warns House Republicans Not To Release Disputed FISA Memo
LINK: Republican Memo Is Newest Shot In The Partisan Battle Over The Trump-Russia Probe
LINK: The GOP Campaign Against The Trump-Russia Probe Seems To Be Unraveling
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2DYiVrZ
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