Memo Alleging Abuse Of Surveillance Authority By The Justice Department And FBI Has Been Released

CBS News: GOP memo released, after Trump declassifies it

The controversial four-page memo created by Republican staffers on the House Intelligence Committee alleging abuse of surveillance authority by the Justice Department and FBI has been released Friday after being declassified by the president. The memo is unredacted.

A White House official told CBS News "there is no conversation or consideration about firing (Deputy Attorney General) Rod Rosenstein," following the memo's release.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I failed to understand why those who were against the release of this memo were saying that it would undermine national security. The only thing that is in this memo and that I did not know before was the role that a Michael Isikoff article in Yahoo news played in producing this FISA warrant to conduct surveillance on Carter Page. So why all the dire warnings and threats on national security that we have been hearing for the entire week? You tell me.

The mention of Christopher Steele in the memo as an intelligence source is also not a surprise. I predicted this yesterday .... that when FBI Director Wray said it would undermine FBI sources, I said that the only source that he had in mind was Christopher Steele .... who has been known since last year (by almost everyone) as a major of intel source for the FBI. The memo is especially critical on how Christopher Steele conducted himself, and why he should never have been used and paid for by the FBI as a source. Again .... this is not a surprise to me .... this blog has outlined more than once on why Christopher Steele should never have been used by the FBI and Justice Department. The memos' mention of then-Associate Deputy General Bruce Ohr and his relationship with Christopher Steele (and the conflict of interests in that relationship) .... is also old news. Bruce Oh's wife worked for the firm that paid Christopher Steele for his "Russian dossier". If this is not a conflict of interest .... then I do not know what is.

Former FBI Director Comey made the following remark when he read the memo .... Comey bashes release of Nunes memo: 'That's it?' (The Hill). He is right .... but to a point. The memo is focused on how a FISA warrant was obtained to spy on Trump aide Carter Page. But what is damning is the evidence that they used to justify this warrant .... a Russian dossier that has never been verified and media reports that used this dossier in their reporting .... and the parade of people who approved it. And what I would like to know is .... did the people who approved using this dossier to justify their FISA warrant knew that the source of this dossier was from a person who was paid by the Clinton campaign to produce it, and that none of it was verified. As to the people who were involved in approving this FISA warrant .... with the exception of Rod Rosenstein .... all of them have either been fired, replaced, or demoted in the past year.

In conclusion. The release of this memo will dominate the news cycle for the next few days. But this is minor in comparison to the report that is coming down the pipeline in the next 2-3 months. The Justice Department's Inspector General will be releasing his report soon .... and it is the official investigation into this entire affair. And my gut is telling me (again) that this is the report that is going to shake up everything.

More News On The Memo Alleging Abuse Of Surveillance Authority By The Justice Department And FBI Has Been Released

Read the controversial Nunes Intel memo released by Republicans -- The Hill
The Nunes FBI Memo, Annotated -- Politico

Hotly disputed Russia-probe memo released over FBI protest -- AP
Explosive memo released as Trump escalates fight over Russia probe -- Reuters
GOP defies FBI, releases secret Russia memo to partisan fury -- Politico
House Intelligence Committee releases controversial Nunes memo after Trump authorizes its declassification -- Business Insider
US President Donald Trump declassifies controversial FBI memo -- DW
Donald Trump approves release of classified Republican memo in fight over Russia probe -- ABC News Online
GOP memo alleges bias against Trump in FBI probe -- The Hill
House memo states disputed dossier was key to FBI’s FISA warrant to surveil members of Team Trump -- FOX News
The Nunes memo has been released -- Axios
House Intelligence Committee releases controversial Nunes memo after Trump authorizes its declassification -- Business Insider
Memo: Papadopoulos info triggered FBI's Russia investigation -- The Hill
FBI memo is published and reveals James Comey used golden showers dossier to get surveillance warrant even though top officials KNEW British spy who wrote it was paid for by Hillary -- Daily Mail
Trump says Russia-probe memo proves bias; Dems say no -- AP
'A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and MUCH WORSE than that': Furious Trump says FBI and DOJ heads should roll as explosive memo is published -- Daily Mail
Trump: Allegations in memo 'a disgrace' -- The Hill
Trump on whether he has confidence in Rosenstein: ‘You figure that one out’ -- Politico
White House official says there's been no discussions about firing Rosenstein -- Reuters
FBI memo firestorm engulfs GOP retreat -- Politico
GOP lawmaker calls for FBI, DOJ officials to face 'treason' charges -- Politico
Democrats step up demands for release of their own memo -- The Hill
White House open to releasing Democratic countermemo -- The Hill
Controversial Republican Memo Released; Pelosi Warns Of Possible ‘Constitutional Crisis’ -- CBS Chicago
Comey bashes release of Nunes memo: 'That's it?' -- The Hill
'That's it?' Contemptuous James Comey shrugs off FBI-shaming as biased and accuses Republicans of producing 'misleading' memo -- Daily Mail
'That's it?' Comey rips House committee over memo -- Politico
AG Sessions in wake of explosive memo: ‘No department is perfect’ -- Washington Times
Sessions responds to Nunes memo: 'No department is perfect' -- The Hill
What does the memo mean? Inside the explosive four-pager that Republicans say will blow the Justice Department wide open -- David Martosko, Daily Mail
What the GOP memo says (and doesn’t say) -- Chad Day, AP
Who Is Carter Page? The mystery of Trump’s man in Moscow. -- Julia Ioffe, Politico
Q&A: How a secret GOP memo became a bitter point of conflict -- Eric Tucker, AP