Trump Will Clear Way for Publication of Classified Memo

Democrats say the memeo was "cherry-picked" and lacks context

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will clear the way for the publication of a controversial Republican-authored memo, White House officials said, despite objections from the FBI.

The memo, prepared by Republicans on the House intelligence committee, is said to allege FBI misconduct in its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump’s own Justice Department and Democrats have furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release, saying it could harm national security and mislead the public.

Trump has said he wants the memo released despite the objections of the FBI and the Justice Department. The FBI declared Wednesday that it has “grave concerns” about the accuracy of the classified memo, which was written as part of an effort to reveal what Republicans say are surveillance abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department in the early stages of the Russian investigation.

Senior FBI officials have also made direct appeals to the White House, warning that it could set a dangerous precedent.

Democrats call the memo an attempt by Republicans to distract attention from the investigation into Russian meddling in the election that sent Trump to the White House.  Some would go so far to say the President’s insistence to release the memo is a preemptive attempt to discredit the FBI amid the Russian investigation.

Democrats on the intelligence panel made a last-ditch effort Wednesday evening to stop the memo’s release, saying it had been “secretly altered” by the Republicans who wrote it. California Rep. Adam Schiff said in a letter to the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Republican Devin Nunes of California, that committee Democrats had discovered changes that were made.

Democrats have called the memo a “cherry-picked” list of GOP talking points. They have prepared their own memo in response, but Republicans voted to block its immediate release.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer are pressing Speaker Paul Ryan to stop the memo’s release. They both called Thursday for Nunes to be removed as chairman of the intelligence panel. Pelosi says Nunes took “deliberately dishonest actions” by altering a classified memo.

The vote to release the memo was unprecedented in the committee’s history. The panel usually goes out of its way to protect classified information in the interest of shielding intelligence sources and methods.

The Justice Department had said in a letter last week that it would be “extraordinarily reckless” to release the memo without first giving the FBI and the department the chance to review it.

The memo could be released in the next day or so.  Donald Trump was overheard Tuesday telling a GOP lawmaker he is “100 percent” in favor of releasing a classified memo on the Russia investigation that has sparked a political fight pitting Republicans against the FBI and the Justice Department. (Jan. 31)