{"id":57773,"date":"2018-02-01T05:19:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T05:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=57773"},"modified":"2018-02-01T05:19:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T05:19:00","slug":"trump-fbi-feud-over-classified-memo-erupts-into-open-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/trump-fbi-feud-over-classified-memo-erupts-into-open-conflict.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump-FBI feud over classified memo erupts into open conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump-FBI feud over classified memo erupts into open conflict<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The long-simmering feud between President Trump and the Justice Department erupted into open conflict Wednesday when the FBI publicly challenged the president\u2019s expected release of a contentious and classified memo related to the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a rare unsigned statement, the FBI cited \u201cgrave concerns\u201d with inaccuracies and omissions in the four-page memo, which was written by House Republicans and alleges abuses at the Justice Department connected to secret surveillance orders. Trump has told advisers that the memo could benefit him by undercutting the special counsel\u2019s investigation and allow him to oust senior Justice Department officials \u2014 and that he wants it released soon, something that could happen as early as Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo\u2019s accuracy,\u201d the FBI said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The extraordinary statement pits the nation\u2019s top federal law enforcement agency against a commander in chief who already has fired one FBI director and has repeatedly expressed a desire to remove the attorney general and others connected to the Russia investigation. That probe, led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, is aimed in part at determining whether any Trump associates coordinated with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election and investigating any related issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI\u2019s public warning came after several days of failed attempts by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and other Justice Department officials to convince the president and his senior staff in private meetings that the memo should be blocked because it poses a risk to national security.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump was captured on video Tuesday night after his State of the Union address telling a South Carolina congressman that he was angry about the memo\u2019s conclusions and would \u201c100 percent\u201d release it. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d Trump told Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who was urging its disclosure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wray has repeatedly tried to warn the White House against releasing the disputed document \u2014 including a visit to the White House on Monday afternoon with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to lobby Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. Later that night, Wray called Kelly again, but Kelly did not give ground, saying the president was inclined to release the memo, according to people familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the conversation. Justice Department officials have been leery of talking to Trump about the memo, given the ongoing Russia inquiry, these people said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump wants the memo released in upcoming days, according to senior White House officials and advisers who said the president sees it as key to making changes at the Justice Department \u2014 particularly pushing out Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller\u2019s investigation and who Trump regularly derides in mocking terms. One senior administration official said that the White House had already heard and dismissed the FBI\u2019s arguments and that the memo could be released as early as Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials said the FBI issued the statement knowing that it would probably not affect the decision. Within the FBI, many are resigned to the prospect that it will be made public soon but want to make clear their strong disagreement with the document\u2019s claims and offer at least a general rebuttal, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unsigned statement is likely to further exacerbate tensions between Trump and senior officials at the Justice Department. While raging about the special counsel\u2019s investigation over the past year, the president has fired FBI Director James B. Comey; shamed and sought to oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions; excoriated FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who stepped aside this week; and talked repeatedly about shoving aside Rosenstein.<\/span><\/p>\n

Few things have frustrated Trump as much as the law enforcement agencies he cannot fully control. Allies say he is upset that he can\u2019t control \u201cmy guys\u201d at the \u201cTrump Justice Department\u201d and that no one seems particularly loyal to him. He has also broken long-held protocols by directly calling Justice Department officials, and instructed his chief of staff to do the same, without the White House counsel on the phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than lessen his trouble, these and other actions have opened new avenues in Mueller\u2019s probe, which has included questions for witnesses about potential obstruction of justice and the president\u2019s behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

The memo in dispute was written by staffers for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) earlier in January after the panel obtained documents related to a controversial dossier of allegations concerning Trump and his purported ties to Kremlin officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The memo alleges that the British former spy who wrote the dossier, Christopher Steele, passed bad information to the FBI \u2014 though people familiar with the document said it does not determine whether he did so intentionally or by mistake. The memo alleges that the information was used in an application to conduct surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials familiar with the Page case have said Steele\u2019s information represented a small part of the secret court document.<\/span><\/p>\n

Late Wednesday night, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the panel\u2019s ranking Democrat, accused Nunes in a letter of making \u201cmaterial changes\u201d to the memo before sending it to the White House \u2014 meaning the memo panel members voted to make public was not the same one as the president is presently reviewing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schiff accused Nunes of \u201cdeliberately misleading\u201d the committee and demanded that Nunes withdraw the version he sent to the White House, insisting that \u201cthere is no longer a valid basis for the White House to review the altered document\u201d and approve its public release.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesman for the Republican majority of the committee called the changes \u201cminor edits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement late Wednesday, the spokesman, Jack Langer, said, \u201cIn its increasingly strange attempt to thwart publication of the memo, the Committee Minority is now complaining about minor edits to the memo, including grammatical fixes and two edits requested by the FBI and by the Minority themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is highly unusual for the White House and the FBI to be so publicly at odds over a matter of national security, and it was unclear what impact the disagreement might have on the standing of Wray, Rosenstein or Sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has told advisers that Wray should make personnel changes more quickly at the FBI, but they have urged the president to have patience. Wray is a favorite of Trump adviser Chris Christie and represented the former New Jersey governor in an investigation over bridge lane closings for political retribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior FBI officials say the GOP memo\u2019s allegations of abuse are inaccurate and unfair, but they also believe the FBI would not be able to effectively counter those claims, because many of the details are classified, according to current and former officials. And they have argued to Kelly and other White House officials, including White House counsel Donald McGahn, that such a release would set a bad precedent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI,\u201d the statement said, referring to the court that oversees use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. \u201cWe are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The senior Justice Department officials have grown concerned that the White House\u2019s process, which is supposed to include a review by lawyers and National Security Council officials, is not sufficiently thorough.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo one here is going to make a decision that jeopardizes national security,\u201d White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday morning on CNN. \u201cThere\u2019s always a chance\u201d the memo won\u2019t be released, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump allies have said for weeks the president will want the document released and that it is only a matter of time. Later Wednesday morning, Kelly told Fox News radio that the memo will \u201cbe released here pretty quick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines Monday to make the document available to the public after Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and other conservatives lobbied Trump on the memo\u2019s release during the government shutdown fight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump supporters say that Justice Department officials are simply trying to protect their own controversial decisions and that abuses deserve to be aired. Nunes called FBI objections to the memo\u2019s release \u201cspurious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that top officials used unverified information in a court document to fuel a counterintelligence investigation during an American political campaign,\u201d Nunes said in a statement. \u201cOnce the truth gets out, we can begin taking steps to ensure our intelligence agencies and courts are never misused like this again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Intelligence Committee\u2019s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), has accused Nunes of orchestrating an \u201ceffort to circle the wagons around the White House and distract from the Russia probe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Schiff has suggested Nunes coordinated with the Trump administration to release the memo, saying that \u201cit is hard for me to escape the conclusion that this is anything but doing the bidding of the White House,\u201d according to a transcript, made public Wednesday, of the committee\u2019s closed-door meeting Monday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) asked during the same meeting whether Nunes had coordinated with the White House to release the memo, the chairman said, \u201cAs far as I know, no.\u201d When pressed whether his staff had done so, Nunes refused to answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders said in the CNN interview that Trump was \u201cnot aware of any conversation or coordination\u201d between Nunes and the White House on the production or release of the memo. But she did not rule out the possibility, saying, \u201cI just don\u2019t know the answer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-fbi-feud-over-classified-memo-erupts-into-open-conflict\/2018\/01\/31\/64362038-06c2-11e8-b48c-b07fea957bd5_story.html?utm_term=.6915d47ae5c8<\/span><\/p>\n

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