Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg House Panel Votes to Release Memo Alleging FBI Anti-Trump Abuses By Billy House and Chris Strohm January 29, 2018, 3:21 PM EST Updated on January 29, 2018, 6:36 PM EST Memo was written by House Intelligence panel’s GOP staff Democrats say memo is aimed at undercutting Mueller’s probe A House committee voted Monday to seek clearance from the White House for public release of a classified Republican memo that alleges bias and counterintelligence abuses in government surveillance of people surrounding President Donald Trump, a Democratic member of the panel said. Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the panel decided to seek release of the GOP memo on a party-line vote, and the panel’s Republican majority also refused along party lines to release a competing memo written by Democrats. "This is an effort to circle the wagons around the White House and distract from the Russia probe," said Schiff of California. The lawmaker said the investigation of election-meddling by Russia continues, and that former White House strategist Steve Bannon is expected to appear before the panel behind closed doors Wednesday. "We press on," Schiff said. extraordinarily reckless” to release the memo because it contains classified information. The memo was written by Republican staff members led by Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California and member Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. It was based on classified material obtained from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation with House Speaker Paul Ryan’s backing. Three House lawmakers who have read the document said it claims that FBI officials didn’t provide all the relevant facts in requests made to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court to obtain a warrant or warrants on Carter Page, a Trump campaign associate and former investment banker in Moscow. The three lawmakers said the memo contends a judge might not have approved the request for surveillance aimed at Page if the FBI revealed that it used an unverified dossier on Trump put together by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, and that he had been hired by an opposition research firm funded in part by Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, and Democrats. A QuickTake Q&A: What Might Happen if Trump Orders Mueller Fired Devin Nunes Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Last week, Schiff of California said Democrats on the committee would write their own memo “setting out the relevant facts and exposing the misleading character” of the Republican account. Before Monday’s vote, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that no one at the White House had seen the memo and “we’ll make a decision when and if that time becomes necessary.” Ryan will defer to Nunes on the memo’s public release “and process,” AshLee Strong, a Ryan spokeswoman, said on Monday. The Intelligence Committee already has let House members read the memo.
There has been a lot of talk about McCabe running for the life boats and taking it up the bo-bo today- and for reasons. Don't every forget though that Rosenstein is Swamp Central and it is inconceivable to me that he will not take a hit in the memo that is going to be released. He may be able to skate because he has done it so many times before but- as I say each week- the walls are closing in on him and this will be another week when they close in even more. In regard to what is in the memo, the short answer is "I don't know" but I don't mind speculating for sport since we will soon know. My guess is that they have McCabe on record cold- in letter, text, email, or recording doing something that cannot be dismissed as just political preference but confirms concrete action to either give Hillary a pass or to bring Trump down. The fbi and the lefty press have had their little fun by repeating a thousand times that that public employees are entitled to political opinions. That bought them some time but the minute an FBI agent exercises any government authority or actions to further their political preferences then it is a whole nuther ballgame and it is Bedtime for Bonzo. I suspect that Wray saw something on McCabe that he knows cannot be splained away. And then there is the FISA thing. I suspect that that was a team sport that involves several FBI types- Strzok, Ohrr, Rosenstein, and McCabe and McCabes assistant/attorney/chief of staff who was recently shuffled and I don't think I ever knew his name. I suspect all of them are going to take a hit on that FISA collusion- some a direct hit, some a tangential blow. Nasty, really nasty. I always keep my expectations low when it comes to the actual prosecution of doj employees but don't for a minute think that I am saying there were no crimes committed. There is a pantload.
I wonder if POTUS will want to release the memo right before SOTU night. It would take away from what he wants to country to know, but he is so unpredictable, anything is possible... These are indeed memorable times. The FBI and the previous government colluded to exonerate a guilty presidential candidate while unlawfully framing another one and they fucking lost. Insane.
Duly noted. Why are Democrats so scared of whats in the memo? Why are Democrats acting as if it is the end of the world if the memo is released. After all it is just some scribblings from Devin Nunes, eh?
The original FISA warrant application on the Trump administration collision should also be declassified. The public deserves to know if this investigation was predicated based on a politically funded, fraudulent dossier; or a legitimate national security concern. The more transparency, the better.
But the sources cited in it are not as Wray knows because he has seen it. And McCabe will be called back to testify before congress and possibly before a grand jury. He is entitled to speak against the accusations and use the Devin Nunes argument to explain the evidence that he is confronted with. Not a problem. He needs to lawyer up though and he may very well be advised to plead the fifth and if he doesn't, of course, that is fine too. Maybe he wants to take Rosenstein and Comey down with him too. I am always up for that. Sorry if this causes you to divert from the media matters script which requires you and Tony Tard to be talking about whether Trump is the one who will plead the fifth. We feel your pain. Oh, and one other thing... McCabe needs to watch out for perjury traps as he prepares to speak to the many investigators who will want to talk to him. After all, lying to an fbi agent is a felony.
The dems are in a bind on this. I think the memo summarizes the basics in the warrant without releasing it because it is classified. But the warrant and the other documents cited in the memo are there to be reviewed in a classified setting. So a congressman can dismiss nunes' summary but would have to also allege that the original warrant does not say that- except all the other congressmen have access to it and can either agree or call bullshit. I don't know. It is "fluid" as the journalists say. Both congress and the white house can over-ride security classifications along the way or set restrictions/redactions. So no one can be exactly sure of what will be held or flat out released- except I think it is clear that anything that is held is still available to congressmen/women to view so if you are going to run with the "that just nunes being nunes again" argument you better be prepared to convince all the others who get to see the original fisa warrant, original emails, original texts, etc. Good luck wit dat.