Trump: Democratic memo 'going to be released soon'

President Donald Trump said on Friday that a Democratic House intelligence memo created to counter claims of wrongdoing against the FBI by Republican officials was “going to be released soon.”

Pressed on the timing of the release by reporters during an impromptu gathering in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed that the disclosure would come shortly.


“It’s going to be released soon,” Trump told reporters. “We’re going to release a letter soon.”

The president did not provide additional details on what the letter would detail.

Trump met on Friday with FBI Director Christopher Wray, the White House counsel’s office and other administration officials to “receive their input” on the document, a top spokesperson told press pool reporters.

“The president is weighing his options and will respond soon,” principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah added.

With the president’s backing, House Republicans released a hotly contested document last week alleging wrongdoing by FBI and Justice Department officials over strong objections from senior officials at the Justice Department and the FBI who expressed deep concerns over its credibility.

Wray and the FBI in a rare statement voiced “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”

The move drew immediate backlash from Democratic officials, who lobbied for the released of their own memorandum intended to serve as a counterweight to the one compiled by the staff for the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif).

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Republicans have cited that document, which alleges that FBI officials improperly obtained a warrant to surveil Trump campaign officials by relying on a disputed dossier, as evidence of an effort to undermine the president at the FBI and the Justice Department.

Panel Democrats, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), say the classified Democratic memo will serve as a rebuttal to the those claims.

The House panel on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve release of the Democratic document, kicking the decision over to the White House and giving Trump and his administration five days to review the materials.

The Trump administration said it would weigh the contents and merits of the memo before making a decision but had yet to outline a potential timeline for its disclosure. Several news reports this week indicated that Trump was likely to green-light the release of the memo.

