Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee voted in favor of releasing the memo that entails evidence of the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) spying on President Donald trump during his campaign and prior to his swearing-in. In addition to that, the memo also alleges misconduct by senior FBI officials who were involved in the probe into Trump’s relations with Russia.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) had earlier mentioned to Fox News that the committee had plans to make the document public. He warned that the document will shock Americans and it would surprise most based on the revelations in the document.
Memo allegedly contains evidence of FISA
The document allegedly provides evidence on the Obama administration using FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrants to spy on the Trump campaign, among other allegations.
However, in contrast to claims made by Joyce, California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff mentioned that the memo contains information depicted to mislead the general public and draw insinuations on the FBI.
Furthermore, Schiff stated that the memo was drafted in order to stop the Democrats from making a similar competing memo public. The document has been the cause of rising tensions between the parties as the Republicans continue to argue about the wrong-doing during Obama’s tenure while the Democrats continue to opine that it’s a ploy to divert attention from the investigation led by Robert Mueller into Trump’s connection with Russia and its impact on the Presidential election in 2016.
Schiff commented that the committee had crossed the line and also confirmed that votes had been cast to politicize the intelligence process as well as prohibiting the FBI and DOJ from making their views known to the House and the committee.
FBI not satisfied
FBI spokesperson Andrew C. Ames had said the bureau had requested access to the document, but the same had been denied outright by the committee.
House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes has since then shown FBI Director Christopher Wray the memo after being goaded by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) to share its contents with the bureau, as mentioned by two people familiar with the meeting, to Politico.
According to Schiff, the FBI director was not satisfied with some of the elements in the document and has asked to be allowed to appear before the committee to present his concerns.
The to-and-fro between the two parties and the publicly drawn-out battle to discredit each other is very much akin to walking a tightrope, the result of which can only be disastrous.
