Trump Chief Of Staff Indicates Sketchy Nunes Memo Will Be Released ‘Pretty Quick’

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly listen to a reporter's question during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly listen to a reporter's question during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The White House is no longer acting like it plans to give a shady intelligence memo put together by House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes a thorough review before deciding whether to publicly release it.

On Fox News Radio Wednesday morning, President Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly said that the four-page memo “will be released here pretty quick.” He said White House lawyers are currently examining it “so that we know what it means and what it understands.”

But his remarks suggested its release was a matter of when, not if.

“This president, again, it’s so unique that he wants everything out so the American people can make up their own minds and if there’s people to be held accountable, then so be it,” Kelly said.

Kelly’s comment comes after Trump himself, as he exited his State of the Union  Tuesday night, was picked up on hot mic telling a Republican lawmaker, “Don’t worry, 100 percent,” when asked about releasing the memo.

Just prior to Trump’s speech, White House aides had told reporters that Trump had not yet read the memo. Administration aides had told CBS News earlier Tuesday that representatives from the Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were all involved in review that would produce a recommendation from the White House counsel’s office as to whether it should be released.

Republicans have been hyping the four-page memo as evidence of misconduct by the FBI over the course of its Russia probe. Democrats have said that its misleading, but that because the underlying intelligence is classified, it will be difficult to provide to the public a full rebuttal to its claims. Nonetheless, they have compiled a counter-memo offering more context that they hope to release in the days to come. House Intel Republicans blocked their move to release both memos at the same time.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has also communicated to the White House that the memo is inaccurate and misleading in its claims, according to Bloomberg.

Latest Muckraker

Notable Replies

  1. “This president, again, it’s so unique that he wants everything out so the American people can make up their own minds and if there’s people to be held accountable, then so be it,” Kelly said.
    WTF??? WTF??? “Everything out”???
    So…out of what was a multi-page FISA warrant application, this cherry-picked, distorted, and misleading piece of propaganda by the fool Nunes, consisting of 4 pages, and without allowing a Democratic response and without the underlying facts that supported the FISA request…all this constitutes getting “everything out”??? Kelly has lost any respect he might have ever had and is now nothing more than another Trump/FOX News stooge.

  2. “This president, again, it’s so unique that he wants everything out so the American people can make up their own minds and if there’s people to be held accountable, then so be it,” Kelly said.

    He wants everything out except the Democrats’ memo that contains the truth, or anything else that has that reality-based fact component to it.

  3. Kelly, former general now fawning sycophant. Sad.

    @marty110 that quote stood out to me too. We already know you sold your soul to the devil Kelly. You don’t need to prove it EVERY time you open your mouth. We get it.

  4. He said White House lawyers are currently examining it “so that we know what it means and what it understands.”

    But his remarks suggested its release was a matter of when, not if.

    “This president, again, it’s so unique that he wants everything out so the American people can make up their own minds and if there’s people to be held accountable, then so be it,” Kelly said.

  5. This article by a former FBI agent who actually worked on FISA applications is MUST READING and lays out
    just how despicable and phony this whole thing is…

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

24 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for ajm Avatar for cervantes Avatar for bluinmaine Avatar for inversion Avatar for sniffit Avatar for mardam422 Avatar for breakingdeadmen Avatar for hquain Avatar for serendipitoussomnambulist Avatar for mtblaze Avatar for sherrybb Avatar for clauscph Avatar for brewhousebob Avatar for tsp Avatar for caltg Avatar for rickjones Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for tiowally Avatar for marymaryquitecontrary Avatar for greysea Avatar for marty110 Avatar for karlwlewis

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: