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 on Friday said he has approved the release of a controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuses at the FBI, escalating a feud between the president and the top law enforcement agency over the origins of the Russia investigation.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump suggested the document shows political bias at the FBI that tainted the probe into whether his campaign cooperated with Russia’s election meddling.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” Trump said of the alleged bias. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
The decision clears the way for the House Intelligence Committee to release the memo.
“It was declassified and let’s see what happens,” Trump said.
White House spokesman Raj Shah said copies had been sent to Republican and Democratic members of the Intelligence panel and the office of Speaker Paul Ryan
Paul Davis RyanSchumer: Nunes intent on undermining 'rule of law' with altered memo Schiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Several lawmakers have seen intelligence behind Nunes memo MORE (R-Wis.)
Trump’s decision came over the objection of the FBI and Justice Department, which said the memo contained misleading information and could compromise sensitive information.
In a rare public statement Wednesday, the FBI said it was “gravely concerned” that critical facts were missing from the documents and painted an inaccurate picture of how the bureau sought approval to conduct surveillance in the probe.
Democrats have dismissed the document as a politically motivated attempt by Trump and his GOP allies to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE's Russia investigation.