WASHINGTON: The The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned onWednesday it has “grave concerns” over the accuracy of a secretCongressional memo that could depict the agency as deeply politicised, asPresident Donald Trump’s top aide signalled the White House would allow thedocument’s release.
Based on highly classified information, the four-page memo – written byRepublican lawmaker Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House IntelligenceCommittee – suggests that the Justice Department and the FBI abused theirpower in running surveillance on a member of President Donald Trump’selection campaign in 2016.
The Justice Department and the FBI have actively lobbied against itsrelease, which has the potential to taint special counsel Robert Mueller’sinvestigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign andRussians, an investigation that is edging closer to the president himself.
But White House chief of staff John Kelly said on Wednesday that thedocument could be made public soon, once White House lawyers have vetted it.
“It’ll be released here pretty quick, I think, and the whole world can seeit,” Kelly told Fox Radio.
“This president …. wants everything out so the American people can make uptheir own minds. And if there are people to be held accountable, then so beit.”
The FBI stressed its concerns in an extraordinary, unsigned publicstatement that demonstrated its growing rift with Trump and Nunes, astaunch defender in Congress of the president.
“With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI wasprovided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before thecommittee voted to release it,” it said.
“As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns aboutmaterial omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”
In a statement, Nunes countered that it was “no surprise” that the JusticeDepartment and FBI would oppose the release of “information related tosurveillance abuses at these agencies.”
“It’s clear that top officials used unverified information in a courtdocument to fuel a counter-intelligence investigation during an Americanpolitical campaign,” he said.
Nunes’ committee voted on Monday to release the memo, distilled from a muchlarger volume of documents used by the FBI to get a so-called ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) national security warrant to spy onTrump campaign official Carter Page, who was suspected of espionage.
Media reports, citing lawmakers who have seen the document, say it allegesthat to obtain the warrant, they submitted as evidence the contentious andunproven “Russia dossier.”
The dossier includes information on contacts between the Trump campaign andRussia compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele andfinanced in part by Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Republicans say it provides evidence that the Justice Department, allegedlyfull of pro-Clinton officials, actively sought to undermine Trump.
Because of its sensitive nature, to release the memo, Nunes needs thepresident’s approval.
If Trump does not act either way, Nunes can release it as early as Saturday.
But Democrats say the memo is based on selective information that does notreflect the entire classified file on the FISA warrant application on Page.
Instead, they say, Nunes is running a politically-motivated stunt to smearthe Mueller collusion investigation, which is also examining whether Trumptried to obstruct the probe.
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, charged onWednesday night in an open letter to Nunes that “substantive” and“material” changes were made to the memo, without the knowledge or approvalof committee members, before it was sent to the White House. Schiff calledfor the memo as sent to be withdrawn and that a new vote be held next week.
Democrats raised questions Wednesday over whether Trump worked with Nunesto produce the memo.
“Today’s announcement that the FBI has ‘grave concerns’ about the Nunesmemo is the latest reason not to release it,” said Democratic SenatorDianne Feinstein, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“It’s clear the goal is to undermine the special counsel’s investigation.”
The release of the memo could sour relations between the president and theFederal Bureau of Investigation, which Trump has repeatedly attacked asbiased against him.
In May 2017, Trump fired FBI director James Comey, who refused to swearpersonal loyalty to the president as he pressed forward on the Russiainvestigation.
Trump has also alleged that the FBI deliberately went easy on Clinton inits 2016 criminal investigation into her misuse of a private email serverwhen she was secretary of state.
That investigation was led by Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe.
Amid an internal FBI investigation into the handling of the Clinton case,McCabe agreed Monday to step down as FBI deputy director – two monthsbefore his planned retirement.
Leaked text messages of two FBI investigators involved in both the Clintonand Russia probes show them expressing strong anti-Trump feelings. – AFP