House Republicans clash over secret memo

Republicans say the public needs to see a memo that allegedly shows shocking wrongdoing by senior U.S. law enforcement officials, but one senior Democrat calls it a misleading effort to protect the president.

By KYLE CHENEY 01/19/2018 06:03 PM EST Updated 01/19/2018 06:44 PM EST

House Republicans are sharply divided over how to handle a classified memo that President Donald Trump’s allies say contains explosive details of misconduct by senior FBI and Justice Department officials.

The memo, compiled by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes and fellow Republicans on the panel, claims that senior federal officials abused a secret surveillance program, commonly known as FISA, to target the Trump campaign. It also alleges other federal law enforcement wrongdoing that some Republicans insist should lead to the firings of senior officials. But while several Republicans have publicly cited the document as cause for alarm—triggering an aggressive Twitter campaign that has featured dozens of supportive tweets by the president's son, Donald Trump Jr.—they have not detailed its specific allegations.

That has prompted Democrats to allege a smear campaign. The House Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, calls the memo a misleading ploy to discredit federal probes into 2016 Russian election meddling and ties between Trump associates and the Kremlin.

“It’s designed to push out a destructive narrative and further the attacks on the FBI. It’s basically a burn-the-house down strategy to protect the president,” he said.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/19/house-republicans-clash-release-the-memo-351132