Photo: Zach Rudisin via Wikimedia Commons
Soon after President Donald Trump declassified a secret memo alleging abuse of surveillance power by the FBI and Justice Department, the House Republicans released the document.
Before the unusual release of the document, Trump made a case at the Oval Office that the memo proves political bias at the FBI in terms of the probe into whether his presidential election campaign during the 2016 election had colluded to enable Russia’s meddling.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” Trump said.
“A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves,” he added in a strongly worded expression.
The document is available at http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/20180129/106822/HMTG-115-IG00-20180129-SD001.pdf .
The release of the controversial memo is a rare move, which faced a stiff Democratic opposition.
Democrats alleged that the memo was altered and could undermine people’s confidence in the ongoing Russian interference probe.
The four-page memo prepared by Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, after it was approved by the panel.
Democrats have questioned the accuracy of the memo. while Republicans have downplayed concerns and many see an opportunity in the release of the document to underscore that the Russian probe targets Republicans unfairly.
Earlier, elevating the clamor over the issue, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to remove Nunes from his position as head of the intelligence panel.
“Chairman Nunes’ deliberately dishonest actions make him unfit to serve as chairman, and he must be immediately removed from this position,” Pelosi wrote, according to a report.
Democrats have strongly objected to the GOP-controlled committee’s refusal to release the Democratic version of the document.
Speaker Ryan rejected Democratic views and has stood by Nunes.
“I think they’re just playing politics and I think they’re looking for a political distraction,” he said in West Virginia, according to a National Public Radio report.
Signifying the unusual nature of the controversy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a statement.
“With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it. As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,” the FBI noted in the statement.
Following reports of Russian intrusion into the 2016 presidential election, Congress is looking into the issue. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is separately investigating the issue.
