Objections from the FBI and Justice Department to the public release of a Republican memo alleging anti-Trump bias in the Russia probe are ‘spurious,’ House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has said.
The memo, commissioned by Nunes (R-California), alleges impropriety by FBI and Department of Justice officials investigating claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Having stonewalled Congress' demands for information for nearly a year, it's no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies,” Nunes said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
It is clear, he continued, that "top officials used unverified information in a court document to fuel a counter-intelligence investigation during an American political campaign. Once the truth gets out, we can begin taking steps to ensure our intelligence agencies and courts are never misused like this again.”
Nunes was responding to a statement by the FBI issued earlier in the day, expressing "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy." The bureau said it was given only a "limited opportunity" to review the memo before the committee voted to release it.
Nunes’ critics, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California), the ranking Democrat on the committee, raised similar objections.
On Monday night, the House Intelligence Committee approved the public release of the memo in a vote split along party lines. President Donald Trump now has until Friday to decide whether or not to allow the memo's release, according to the House rules.
It is widely expected that he will do so. On Tuesday evening, Trump told a Republican lawmaker he would do it “100 percent” as he prepared to deliver his first State of the Union address.
White House chief of staff John Kelly also indicated that the memo’s release was imminent.
“It will be released here pretty quick, I think, and the whole world can see it,” Kelly said during an interview on Fox News Radio.
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