A growing number of Republicans are demanding the release of a classified report that they say reveals political bias at the FBI and Department of Justice in the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling
Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) spearheaded the effort this week to allow lawmakers to view a top-secret report compiled by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
Scores of Republicans have since viewed the document in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility on Capitol Hill. They left expressing shock, saying the special counsel investigation into whether Trump’s campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia is based on politically motivated actions at the highest level of law enforcement.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) called the memo “shocking.”
“I’m here to tell all of a America tonight that I’m shocked to read exactly what has taken place,” Meadows (R-N.C.) said in a speech on the House floor.
“I thought it could never happen in a country that loves freedom and democracy like this country. It is time that we become transparent with all of this, and I’m calling on our leadership to make this available so all Americans can judge for themselves.”
Meadows and his allies asked GOP leaders in the House to declassify the report as part of a short-term spending bill the House passed late Thursday night. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he wanted to follow House rules on the matter and deferred to Nunes and the Intelligence Committee.
Nunes could call for a vote to release the report on his panel. If a majority on the committee agrees to declassify the report, the executive branch would then need to sign-off to make it public, said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), another Freedom Caucus member.
“It is so alarming the American people have to see this,” Jordan said.
Speculation about the memo and what it might say exploded on social media Thursday night under the hashtag #releasethedocuments. Conservative firebrand Sean Hannity kicked off his Thursday night Fox News show with a message directly to special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Your witch hunt is now over,” Hannity said. “Time to close the doors.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said the memo contains widespread evidence of “FISA abuse.” Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said the report “raises serious questions about the upper echelon of the Obama DOJ and Comey FBI as it relates to the so-called collusion investigation.”
In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, called the report “a profoundly misleading set of talking points drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI and its handling of the investigation.”
“Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI,” Schiff said. “This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals.”
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GOP lawmakers demand release of "shocking" memo they claim proves Mueller probe is anti-Trump: https://t.co/MmLuKTE8a9 pic.twitter.com/mA9KVDDn8m
— The Hill (@thehill) January 19, 2018
Their goal is to get rid of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Of course it is and they must do it before Bannon and some of the others testify to Mueller. And Trump supporters will cheer this on so that their idol’s crimes are not exposed.
Been out of commission for a few days with flu but have been monitoring reports about Nunes 4-page memo. I vote that Congress releases the entire Carter Page FISA application so the public can make its own determination. I want to see all the underlying information. #fullstop
— Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) January 24, 2018
Trying again: The way to cut through the bs is to declassify the underlying material, rather than Nunes' spin. He and the rest of the GOP on the committee are dead set against doing that, however. There is no innocent explanation for that position.
— Dan Murphy (@bungdan) January 24, 2018
JUST IN: DOJ's Stephen Boyd has sent a letter to @DevinNunes saying release of *the memo* without review by DOJ/FBI would be "extraordinarily reckless." Says the memo purports to be based on "classified source materials that neither you nor most of" the committee "have seen." pic.twitter.com/F0pmL34vhk
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 24, 2018
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