Donald Trump releases Senate Intelligence Committee memo critical of FBI surveillance

Democrats wanted to keep memo secret

A GOP memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI has been released, intensifying a fight between the White House and Republican lawmakers, on one side, and the nation’s top law enforcement agency over claims the FBI hid the political motivations of a key figure supplying them information in the case.

President Trump had approved the release of the memo without redactions Friday morning, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “I think it’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country. . . . A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much worse than that.”

The FBI has said it has “grave concerns” that the contents of the memo leave out important details and create an inaccurate portrait of their work.

The four-page, newly declassified memo written by the Republican staffers for the House Intelligence Committee said the findings “raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain (Justice Department) and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC),’’ calling it “a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.’’

The memo alleges that a surveillance warrant was obtained and renewed on a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, with information from an individual with an anti-Trump agenda.

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