House Democrats are planning to push for a Monday vote to release their 10-page rebuttal memo, which reportedly counters characterizations Republicans made in their own anti-FBI memo released Friday, the New York Times reported Sunday.
The Democratic memo reportedly purports to show that the FBI was more transparent with the surveillance court than Republicans claim in their document. The House GOP memo was authored by Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) staffers and claims FBI officials misled the FISA court when attempting to obtain a warrant to expand surveillance on a Trump campaign aide Carter Page, the Times reported.
People familiar with the memo who spoke with the Times said the Democrats’ memo also counters Republicans’ claims that former Deputy FBI Director FBI Andrew McCabe told the Intelligence Committee that Page wouldn’t have been approved for surveillance if it hadn’t been for information from the Christoper Steele dossier.
Republicans claim a FISA warrant to surveil Page was approved based solely on the dossier. It also contends FBI officials were not honest with the FISA court about how the research for the dossier was funded.
Democrats were particularly frustrated with the release of the Republican-authored memo when a vote to declassify their rebuttal document was stalled. While the Democrats’ memo will have to go through the same House Intelligence Committee vote and White House approval as the Republicans’ memo did, both parties have indicated they’d consider the document’s release, according to the Times.
“Generally speaking, we’re open to considering any document the House Intel Committee submits to us for declassification along the lines that the Nunes memo was considered,” White House spokesperson Raj Shah told the Times.
However, convincing President Donald Trump to release the counter-memo may prove difficult, as Trump has contended that the Republicans’ memo vindicates him in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Trump also attacked Rep. Adam Schiff on Twitter Monday morning. Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, has pushed for the release of the Democrats’ memo.
