Controversial memo released after White House approval
FBI's use of surveillance put under question
FBI's use of surveillance put under question
FBI's use of surveillance put under question
A classified GOP memo that accuses the FBI of surveillance abuses related to the probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia was released Friday, shortly after President Trump gave the OK to declassify the document.
Despite protests by the Department of Justice and FBI, which says the document is missing context, Trump signed the order to declassify the memo written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes' staff.
"I think it's a disgrace what's going on in this country. ... A lot of people should be ashamed," Trump said in brief remarks at the White House.
The four-page memo raises concerns with the legality and legitimacy of how the agencies dealt with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and finds a "troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.
"The Committee has discovered serious violations of the public trust, and the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes," Rep. Nunes said in a statement.
It details how information from the infamous "Steele dossier," a DNC-funded opposition research document compiled by a former British intelligence agent, was "essential" in the FBI's application to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
According to the memo, the head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, "corroboration of the Steele dossier was in its 'infancy' at the time of the initial Page FISA application," and the reporting was only "minimally corroborated" before he was terminated for disclosing his relationship with the FBI to the media. It also claims Steele told a top official in the Attorney General's Office that Steele said he was "desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president."
"While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations," the memo concludes.
The FBI and Department of Justice have warned against releasing the memo, with the former saying it has "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy." Three former Obama administration officials signed off on the warrants, saying former FBI Director James Comey signed three applications, then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates signed at least one.
"That's it?" asked Comey, who was fired by Trump last summer.
"Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee," he said in a tweet, "destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs."
Democrats have accused Republican lawmakers of putting politics ahead of politics, and the release of a rebuttal memo was denied for now after a party-line vote. Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the Intel Committee, accused Nunes of ignoring "underlying materials" and ordering changes to the document. He said the memo ignores that the Russia investigation began before Steele's dossier and it mischaracterizes the FISA application.
Earlier Friday, Trump harshly criticized the leadership of the FBI and DOJ.
"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!" Trump tweeted.