FBI To White House: Please Block The FISA Memo That Could Expose Us For Spying On You
Image Credit: Dallas Morning News
Original Article | Author: Matt Vespa
The war between House Republicans and the DOJ/FBI continues as the bureau released a statement today saying they had “grave concerns” about the House Intelligence Committee releasing a damning FISA memo that alleges grave abuses, citing omissions that could impact its accuracy (via The Hill):
In a rare public statement on Wednesday, the FBI said it has "grave concerns" about a Republican-crafted memo alleging corrosive abuse of United States surveillance powers by the Justice Department that is expected to be released in the coming days.
"With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it," the bureau said.
"As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy."
[…]
Caught on a hot mic on Tuesday night, Trump promised Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) that he would "100 percent" release the memo. The White House has insisted the document will go through a normal multi-agency review process to ensure its release will not jeopardize national security.
Trump's chief of staff John Kelly on Wednesday indicated the White House plans to release the memo soon.
“It will be released here pretty quick, I think, and then the whole world can see it,” Kelly said during an interview on Fox News Radio. “This president wants everything out so the American people can make up their own minds.”
Some lawmakers said the abuses are so bad they echo actions of the Soviet KGB, with the added warning that changes could come to the FBI as a consequence. They have repeated the notion that they were not allowed to review it prior to the House Intelligence Committee’s vote to make it public earlier this week. Again, the FBI has read the memo; FBI Director Wray reviewed it on Sunday. They have all the documents—and if they were so worried about national security, why were portions leaked to The New York Times a day after Wray looked at it? President Trump wants the memo released. After the House Intelligence Committee vote on January 29, Trump has five days to decide whether to block its release or not.
