The Wall Street Journal reports President Donald Trump has authorized the release of the classified memo alleging surveillance abuses by the Obama administration against Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, Carter Page.
“I sent it over to Congress. They’re going to do whatever they do,” Mr. Trump said, speaking in an Oval Office meeting. “A lot of people should be ashamed.”
The House Intelligence Committee is expected to release the now declassified memo this evening in a high-profile Friday night news dump.
The FBI has fought the release of the memo assembled by the bipartisan intelligence committee in its efforts to unravel potential political bias in the handling of the Russia investigation related to the 2016 elections.
It has been rumored, but not proven nor disproven, that the unverified “Russian dossier” compiled as opposition research was unethically used to justify the Page-related FISA warrants.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
The memo says surveillance against Mr. Page–approved by top officials at the Justice Department and FBI–used information from an-ex British spy. The memo added top law-enforcement officials knew the spy, Christopher Steele, was being paid through intermediaries by the Democratic Party when they sought the warrant and the renewals. Mr. Steele’s information was an essential basis for the warrant, the memo said.
