Top Justice Department officials made a last-ditch plea Monday to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the dangers of publicly releasing a memo alleging abuses by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting. Shortly before the House Intelligence Committee voted to make the document public, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein warned Kelly that the four-page memo prepared by House Republicans could jeopardize classified information and implored the president to reconsider his support for making it public, those people said. Rosenstein was joined in the meeting at the White House by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. Rosenstein, who is supervising special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, said the Department of Justice was not convinced the memo accurately describes its investigative practices. He said making the document public could set a dangerous precedent, according to a person familiar with the discussion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/justice-dept-officials-appealed-to-white-house-to-halt-release-of-memo-alleging-fbi-abuses-related-to-author-of-trump-dossier/2018/01/30/32f9d15a-060d-11e8-ae28-e370b74ea9a7_story.html
In statement, FBI says it has “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the [Nunes] memo’s accuracy.” pic.twitter.com/RuTGTVijvw - Shane Harris (@shaneharris) January 31, 2018
“Having stonewalled Congress’ demands for information for nearly a year, it’s no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies. The FBI is intimately familiar with ‘material omissions’ with respect to their presentations to both Congress and the courts, and they are welcome to make public, to the greatest extent possible, all the information they have on these abuses. Regardless, it’s clear that top officials used unverified information in a court document to fuel a counter-intelligence investigation during an American political campaign. Once the truth gets out, we can begin taking steps to ensure our intelligence agencies and courts are never misused like this again.” https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=854
Statement from the FBI Agents Association voicing support for FBI Director Chris Wray in the wake of Nunes memo controversy:
"The FBI Agents Association appreciates FBI Director Chris Wray standing shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of the FBI" pic.twitter.com/eJc4J8TQr4 - NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) February 1, 2018
Top Justice Department officials made a last-ditch plea Monday to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the dangers of publicly releasing a memo alleging abuses by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting.
Shortly before the House Intelligence Committee voted to make the document public, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein warned Kelly that the four-page memo prepared by House Republicans could jeopardize classified information and implored the president to reconsider his support for making it public, those people said. Rosenstein was joined in the meeting at the White House by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray.
Rosenstein, who is supervising special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, said the Department of Justice was not convinced the memo accurately describes its investigative practices. He said making the document public could set a dangerous precedent, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/justice-dept-officials-appealed-to-white-house-to-halt-release-of-memo-alleging-fbi-abuses-related-to-author-of-trump-dossier/2018/01/30/32f9d15a-060d-11e8-ae28-e370b74ea9a7_story.html
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In statement, FBI says it has “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the [Nunes] memo’s accuracy.” pic.twitter.com/RuTGTVijvw
- Shane Harris (@shaneharris) January 31, 2018
Reply
“Having stonewalled Congress’ demands for information for nearly a year, it’s no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies. The FBI is intimately familiar with ‘material omissions’ with respect to their presentations to both Congress and the courts, and they are welcome to make public, to the greatest extent possible, all the information they have on these abuses. Regardless, it’s clear that top officials used unverified information in a court document to fuel a counter-intelligence investigation during an American political campaign. Once the truth gets out, we can begin taking steps to ensure our intelligence agencies and courts are never misused like this again.”
https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=854
Reply
Statement from the FBI Agents Association voicing support for FBI Director Chris Wray in the wake of Nunes memo controversy:
"The FBI Agents Association appreciates FBI Director Chris Wray standing shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of the FBI" pic.twitter.com/eJc4J8TQr4
- NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) February 1, 2018
Reply
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