Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsUS to prioritize new asylum applications over past filings California considers state-run bank for pot businesses Trump doesn't recognize foreign-born black and brown people as American MORE responded on Friday to the release of a contentious memo by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee alleging intelligence abuses at the Justice Department, saying "no Department is perfect."
In a statement issued shortly after the memo's release, Sessions acknowledged GOP concerns about Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials' actions, but said he remained confident in the agency's employees.
"Congress has made inquiries concerning an issue of great importance for the country and concerns have been raised about the Department’s performance," he said. "I have great confidence in the men and women of this Department. But no Department is perfect."
Sessions said he would ensure the DOJ addresses the concerns raised in the memo, which accuses FBI and Justice Department officials of misusing their authority to obtain a secret surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.
"Accordingly, I will forward to appropriate DOJ components all information I receive from Congress regarding this," he said. "I am determined that we will fully and fairly ascertain the truth.
"We work for the American people and are accountable to them and those they have elected. We will meet that responsibility."
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, led by Chairman Devin Nunes
Devin Gerald NunesSchumer: Nunes intent on undermining 'rule of law' with altered memo Schiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Former GOP rep rips Nunes over memo: He's chair of Trump's reelection campaign MORE (R-Calif.), made the memo public on Friday after President Trump
Donald John TrumpSchiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Davis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump Former Trump legal spokesman to testify to Mueller about undisclosed call: report MORE approved its release. They argued that doing so was necessary because it shed light on the origins of the investigation into Russia's election meddling.
But Democrats and the FBI raised concerns about the memo's accuracy ahead of its release, saying it omitted key information that would have helped put its contents into the proper context.
“The Republican document mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information that few members of Congress have seen, and which Chairman Nunes himself chose not to review," House Intelligence Democrats said in a statement.
"It fails to provide vital context and information contained in DOJ’s [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] application and renewals, and ignores why and how the FBI initiated, and the Special Counsel has continued, its counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s election interference and links to the Trump campaign," the statement continued.