NYT: GOP Memo Reveals Rosenstein Approved Surveillance Of Carter Page

Republicans’ secret memo — that they claim reveals evidence of an internal bias within the FBI and the Justice Department — reportedly shows that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave the green light to extend surveillance of an aide for President Trump’s campaign, according to new reporting from The New York Times.

Rosenstein reportedly approved an application to extend surveillance of former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page because the Justice Department had reason to believe he was acting as a foreign agent for Russia, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke with the Times.

The secret memo — which has pushed Republican members of the House to demand its release — reportedly claims that officials did not tell an intelligence court judge that they were partially relying on information from the Christopher Steele dossier in order to obtain the warrant.

The memo in question was authored by Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) staffers, and it reportedly contains classified information about the conduct of senior Department of Justice and FBI officials, that allegedly proves Republicans’ claims of the Justice Department’s bias against President Donald Trump. The memo was reportedly shared with many Republican members of Congress, but has not been turned over to the FBI or the Department of Justice. The White House said Monday it plans to review the document.

Democrats are questioning the validity of the memo, with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) calling it a “conspiracy theory.” Two California Democrats Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Adam Schiff have asked Facebook and Twitter to probe whether the hashtag promoting the release of the memo on social media was propagated by Russian bots.