US President Donald Trump has approved the release of a secret Republican memo, that reportedly alleges FBI abuse of power.

It is believed the memo relates to the manner in which FBI conducted its inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in US elections.

According to The Washington Post, the memo - which was prepared by the office of House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes - raises concerns over the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Speaking to reporters in the last hour, President Trump claimed the memo tells a "disgraceful story" adding that "a lot of people should be ashamed."

He has now sent it back to Congress, where it is expected to be released.

Earlier today, President Trump accused FBI and US Justice Department leaders of 'politicising' investigations in favour of Democrats.

The memo has been fuelling controversy for days in the US.

It was written by Republican congressional staff members – and Democrats have insisted it is aimed at derailing the ongoing investigations into the Trump campaign.

Republican members of the committee previously voted to publicly release the memo.

Earlier this week, the FBI took the extremely rare step of commenting publicly on the matter – warning that the bureau harboured "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy."

Democrats, meanwhile, have accused Republicans of using the memo as part of partisan efforts to "discredit the investigations into the Trump-Russia scandal".

The opposition party's leaders in both the House and Senate have called for Nunes to be removed from his committee role over claims he had altered parts of the memo before sending it to the White House.

The memo is believed to claim that the FBI and Justice Department relied on claims within a controversial and unverified dossier prepared on Donald Trump and Russia in order to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) warrant on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

That dossier - which contains various as yet unverified allegations - was prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele.

It has subsequently emerged the document was initially produced as part of opposition research during the 2016 election campaign. </s> President Donald Trump slammed the leadership of the FBI and Department of Justice on Friday ahead of the possible release of a highly controversial Republican memo alleging the FBI abused its surveillance tools, claiming the government agencies "politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans."

The tweet puts Trump squarely on the side of Republican lawmakers who view the memo, which was penned by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and approved for release by the House committee earlier this week, as a document that shows evidence of nefarious motives atop the FBI.

"The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago," Trump wrote. "Rank & File are great people!"

Trump has signaled for days that he is inclined to release the memo. </s> The Latest on President Donald Trump and the FBI (all times local):

 

12:25 p.m.

 

The Republican-led House Intelligence Committee has released a memo based on classified information that alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

 

President Donald Trump cleared the way for publication of the controversial memo despite objections from the FBI. The four-page memo was drafted by Republicans on the committee chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California.

 

The FBI, Justice Department and Democrats have furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release. They say it could harm national security and mislead the public. Republicans on the committee have said they believe they've uncovered serious misconduct that needs to be made public.



 

___

 

12:02 p.m.

 

President Donald Trump says a newly declassified GOP memo alleging FBI abuses shows, "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."

 

Trump tells reporters Friday: "The memo was sent to Congress, it was declassified. Congress will do whatever they're going to do. But I think it's a disgrace what's happened in our country."

 

Trump's decision to declassify the memo clears the way for the public release of the document. The memo was prepared by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee based on classified information and alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

 

The FBI says it has "grave concerns" about the memo's accuracy.

 

___

 

11:55 a.m.

 

The White House says it has declassified a GOP-authored memo on the Russia probe. That clears the way for the House Intelligence Committee to release the document, which is based on classified information and alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

 

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah says President Donald Trump cleared the way for publication of the controversial memo, despite objections from the FBI. The four-page memo was drafted by Republicans on the committee chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California.

 

The FBI, Justice Department and Democrats have furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release. They say it could harm national security and mislead the public. Republicans on the committee have said they believe they've uncovered serious misconduct that needs to be made public.

 

___

 

7:12 a.m.

 

President Donald Trump is lashing out at Democrats, as he criticizes the FBI over the investigation of potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign.

 

Trump tweeted a quote from the head of the conservative group Judicial Watch Friday morning.

 

He tweeted: "'You had Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party try to hide the fact that they gave money to GPS Fusion to create a Dossier which was used by their allies in the Obama Administration to convince a Court misleadingly, by all accounts, to spy on the Trump Team.' Tom Fitton, JW"

 

Fitton appeared on "Fox and Friends" Friday.

 

Trump is expected to clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation that Republicans say shows improper use of surveillance by the FBI.

 

___

 

6:45 a.m.

 

President Donald Trump is accusing the FBI and Justice Department of playing politics "in favor of Democrats and against Republicans."

 

Trump tweets: "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!"

 

White House officials say President Donald Trump will allow the publication of a classified memo prepared by Republicans accusing the FBI of abusive surveillance tactics in the Russia investigation.

 

The memo is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.

 

____

 

12:19 a.m.

 

White House officials say President Donald Trump will clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation.

 

The memo, prepared by Republicans on the House intelligence committee, is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.

 

Trump's Justice Department furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release, saying it could harm national security and mislead the public.

 

A White House official said Congress would probably be informed of the decision Friday. A second official said Trump was likely to declassify the congressional memo but the precise method for making it public was still being figured out. The officials were not authorized to be quoted about private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. </s> President Donald Trump cleared the way for publication of the controversial memo despite objections from the FBI. The four-page memo was drafted by Republicans on the committee chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California.

The FBI, Justice Department and Democrats have furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release. They say it could harm national security and mislead the public. Republicans on the committee have said they believe they've uncovered serious misconduct that needs to be made public.

 ___

President Donald Trump says a newly declassified GOP memo alleging FBI abuses shows, "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."

Trump tells reporters Friday: "The memo was sent to Congress, it was declassified. Congress will do whatever they're going to do. But I think it's a disgrace what's happened in our country."

Trump's decision to declassify the memo clears the way for the public release of the document. The memo was prepared by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee based on classified information and alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

The FBI says it has "grave concerns" about the memo's accuracy.

The White House says it has declassified a GOP-authored memo on the Russia probe. That clears the way for the House Intelligence Committee to release the document, which is based on classified information and alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah says President Donald Trump cleared the way for publication of the controversial memo, despite objections from the FBI. The four-page memo was drafted by Republicans on the committee chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California.

The FBI, Justice Department and Democrats have furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release. They say it could harm national security and mislead the public. Republicans on the committee have said they believe they've uncovered serious misconduct that needs to be made public.

President Donald Trump is lashing out at Democrats, as he criticizes the FBI over the investigation of potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign.

Trump tweeted a quote from the head of the conservative group Judicial Watch Friday morning.

He tweeted: "'You had Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party try to hide the fact that they gave money to GPS Fusion to create a Dossier which was used by their allies in the Obama Administration to convince a Court misleadingly, by all accounts, to spy on the Trump Team.' Tom Fitton, JW"

Trump is expected to clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation that Republicans say shows improper use of surveillance by the FBI.

President Donald Trump is accusing the FBI and Justice Department of playing politics "in favor of Democrats and against Republicans."

Trump tweets: "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!"

White House officials say President Donald Trump will allow the publication of a classified memo prepared by Republicans accusing the FBI of abusive surveillance tactics in the Russia investigation.

The memo is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.

White House officials say President Donald Trump will clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation.

The memo, prepared by Republicans on the House intelligence committee, is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.

Trump's Justice Department furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release, saying it could harm national security and mislead the public.

A White House official said Congress would probably be informed of the decision Friday. A second official said Trump was likely to declassify the congressional memo but the precise method for making it public was still being figured out. The officials were not authorized to be quoted about private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. </s> WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald Trump on Saturday agreed to release a redacted version of a Democratic memo that seeks to undercut Republican claims of FBI surveillance abuses.

The House Intelligence Committee released the Democratic memo after the White House signed off following negotiations between the FBI and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, over what in the document should be redacted.

Earlier this month, the White House objected to releasing the memo, saying that sensitive material had to be removed first.

Schiff’s memo was written to rebut a Republican memo that accuses the FBI of suppressing Democratic ties to an opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia used in the FISA warrant for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

Schiff and other Democrats charge that the Republican memo led by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes of California is misleading and omits key facts, including that the FISA application did state that ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier, was paid by a political entity. FBI Director Christopher Wray also expressed concerns, publicly warning the White House that omitted information could impact the memo’s veracity.

The release of the Schiff memo caps an unprecedented and tumultuous period for the committee, which has now voted to release two classified documents using an obscure committee rule that had never been invoked previously in the panel’s history. </s> Kellyanne Conway said Friday that President Trump is not concerned about FBI Christopher Wray resigning over the possible release of the memo.

“The president has not express that concern at all,” Mrs. Conway, counselor to the president, said on Fox News.

She said that Mr. Trump supports members of the justice system, including those at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and at the Department of Justice, but did say there has been proven bias in both organizations.

“This particular investigation has taken a lot of twists and turns, and it’s led us to a few bad actors who had direct responsibility for an investigation about his political opponent and are obviously biased against him,” she explained.

The memo, written by Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican who chairs the House intelligence committee, alleges abusive practices within the justice system in order to obtain warrants on Trump campaign aides. The committee voted to release the document on Monday, but Mr. Trump has the final word on whether it will be released. He has until Monday to make a decision. </s> • FBI director Christopher Wray sent a letter to employees Friday urging them to "keep calm and tackle hard" after the release of a highly controversial memo that claims the bureau and the Department of Justice improperly surveilled a Trump campaign adviser.
• The so-called Nunes memo, which was authored by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, has been hotly contested by lawmakers and intelligence officials.
• President Donald Trump and Republicans say the document promotes transparency and holds law enforcement accountable, while Democrats and top DOJ and FBI officials say it contains a host of inaccuracies and omissions that mischaracterize the intelligence community's work.

FBI director Christopher Wray advised employees at the bureau to "keep calm" and continue working following the release Friday of a highly controversial memo claiming that the FBI and the Department of Justice abused their surveillance authority to monitor a former adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign.

The memo was authored by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, who has been conducting an independent investigation into what he characterizes as bias and political corruption at the DOJ and FBI since last year.

The memo's release was hotly contested. While Republicans and Trump said its release would promote transparency and hold the government accountable, Democrats and intelligence and law enforcement heads strongly cautioned that the document contained significant inaccuracies and could compromise intelligence-gathering sources and methods.

Trump authorized the memo's declassification Friday morning. The committee released it to the public shortly after.

While Trump and his allies immediately pointed to the document as proof that the top ranks of the DOJ and FBI were tainted with political bias, Democrats said it was much ado about nothing and merely a list of Republican talking points meant to discredit the Russia probe.

Wray, who was one of several top officials to urge the president against signing off on the memo's release, said in his message to employees, "The American people read the papers, and they hear lots of talk on cable TV and social media. But they see and experience the actual work you do — keeping communities safe and our nation secure, often dealing with sensitive matters and making decisions under difficult circumstances. And that work will always matter more," he said.

"Talk is cheap," he added, and "the work you do is what will endure. We speak through our work. One case at a time. One intelligence product at a time. One decision at a time."

Wray's message came as Trump and his Republican allies in Congress and the media mount an increasingly intense campaign that critics say is aimed at discrediting the Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller, and the agencies in charge of overseeing the investigation.

Following the Nunes memo's release on Friday, Wray told agents they must "stay laser-focused on doing great work, even when it's not easy, because we belive in the FBI. We believe in what it stands for and in what this institution means to people."

"And nothing is going to change that," he added. "We're going to keep doing that work, because we know who and what we are, and because we know that our mission comes first. The American people come first."

The FBI director has increasingly been at odds with Trump in recent weeks, whether it be over former deputy director Andrew McCabe's ouster or the Nunes memo. Sources told CNN on Thursday that White House aides were concerned Wray would submit his resignation if Trump authorized the memo's release, adding that the FBI director's stance was "raising hell" in the White House.

Meanwhile, Wray is said to be frustrated that Trump, who hand-picked him to lead the FBI after firing James Comey last May, has dismissed his advice as part of the DOJ's purportedly partisan campaign against the president and his allies.

CBS News also reported on Thursday that Wray was prepared to issue a public rebuttal of the Nunes memo if Trump did choose to declassify it.

The FBI director has not yet indicated that he will do so, but urged employees on Friday to "keep doing your great work and keep being the great people you are."

He added: "Remember: keep calm and tackle hard."

"Thank you for standing strong together, and for keeping your faith in this institution that means so much to all of us," he concluded. </s> Two weeks after President Donald Trump blocked its release on national security grounds, the House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a 10-page memo intended to counter Republican claims that the FBI acted inappropriately in pursuing a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

The memo, penned in January by Rep. Adam Schiff, the committee’s ranking Democrat, was released with redactions on Saturday afternoon after weeks of negotiations between the committee and the Justice Department over what material would be released to the public. Trump had said earlier this month that the unredacted memo “contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages.”

Schiff’s memo was written to counter a four-page Republican memo, written by Rep. Devin Nunes, which alleged that the FBI’s decision to include allegations made in a dossier prepared by British ex-spy Christopher Steele in a FISA warrant application called into question the “legitimacy and legality of certain [Justice Department] and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.”

The Justice Department had argued against that memo’s declassification, citing “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”

Moments after he was fêted as a conquering hero at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the memo’s release on Saturday was a body blow to his credibility as a government watchdog. The Schiff-authored memo undermines many of the claims made in Nunes’ document. Among them, the memo declares that Steele’s intelligence reporting “did not inform the FBI’s decision to initiate its counterintelligence investigation,” and that the special counsel investigation into Page’s potential links to the Russian government were based on “troubling” information unrelated to the dossier.

Schiff’s memo also appears to undercut Nunes’ argument that the FBI had hidden the fact that Steele’s had been backed by Trump’s political opponents from the FISA court.

“Far from ‘omitting’ material facts about Steele,” the memo states, “DOJ repeatedly informed the Court about Steele’s background, credibility, and potential bias.” The Department of Justice, the memo alleges, explained Steele’s financial relationship with those who had “likely political motivations” behind the dossier, and that the FBI still had reason to find Steele credible on matters relating to Russia.

The memo states that “senior FBI and DOJ officials have repeatedly affirmed to the Committee the reliability and credibility of Steele’s reporting,” and called the process to vet his allegations—including those against Page—as “rigorous.”

Nune’s memo had also claimed that the FISA materials “relied heavily” on news articles based on leaks from Steele himself, an allegation that Schiff’s memo undercuts. “DOJ referenced [the] article,” the memo states, “not to provide separate corroboration for Steele’s reporting, but instead to inform the Court of Page’s public denial of his suspected meetings in Moscow.”

In a statement, Schiff said that the release of his memo “should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the FISC.” His review, he said, “failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests.”

In a statement to The Daily Beast, the White House labelled the Schiff memo an attempt to “undercut the President politically,” but noted that Trump still supported its release.

“This politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majority’s memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “As the President has long stated, neither he nor his campaign ever colluded with a foreign power during the 2016 election, and nothing in today’s memo counters that fact.”

The president had declared the release of Nunes’ memo “vindicated” his denials of any contact or collusion with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential campaign—although multiple Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee didn’t see it that way.

“I actually don’t think it has any impact on the Russia probe,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said on CBS’ Face the Nation at the time. “There is a Russia investigation without a dossier... The dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. It also doesn’t have anything to do with obstruction of justice, so there’s going to be a Russia probe with or without the dossier.”

Nunes disputed Gowdy’s assertions at the time—and the newest memo’s assertions upon its release.

“The American people now clearly understand that the FBI used political dirt paid for by the Democratic Party to spy on an American citizen from the Republican Party,” Nunes said in a statement. “It defies belief that the Department of Justice and FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page.” </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday agreed to release a redacted version of a Democratic memo that seeks to undercut Republican claims of FBI surveillance abuses.

The House Intelligence Committee released the Democratic memo after the White House signed off following negotiations between the FBI and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, over what in the document should be redacted.

Earlier this month, the White House objected to releasing the memo, saying that sensitive material had to be removed first.

Schiff’s memo was written to rebut a Republican memo that accuses the FBI of suppressing Democratic ties to an opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia used in the FISA warrant for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

Schiff and other Democrats charge that the Republican memo led by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes of California is misleading and omits key facts, including that the FISA application did state that ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier, was paid by a political entity. FBI Director Christopher Wray also expressed concerns, publicly warning the White House that omitted information could impact the memo’s veracity.

The release of the Schiff memo caps an unprecedented and tumultuous period for the committee, which has now voted to release two classified documents using an obscure committee rule that had never been invoked previously in the panel’s history.
U.S. President Donald Trump authorizes Congress to release the Nunes memo, against the wishes of the FBI, Department of Justice, and lawmakers from both sides, all of whom say that the document's release poses a risk to national security.