Secret House memo on FBI spying: Should you believe the hype?

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump: Interview Unlikely in Mueller Probe President Donald Trump says it "seems unlikely" that he'd give an interview in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. (Jan. 10)

WASHINGTON — A secret memo written by Republicans from the House Intelligence Committee either reveals "shocking" spying abuses by the FBI and Justice Department, or it's just a Republican-created distraction away from the ongoing Russia investigation, just as the probe moves closer to President Trump.

House Republicans are pressing for the memo's public release and are joining a "#ReleaseTheMemo" campaign on social media that Democrats say is being promoted by the Russian government to discredit the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. The Democrats cited reports by the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy that researchers couldn't recall the last time an issue had been promoted so much by Russian bots and trolls.

The uproar underscores once again the deep partisan divide among House Intelligence Committee members, whose investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia has been marred by infighting.

HOW WE GOT HERE

The latest chapter in that discord began last Thursday, when committee Republicans voted to allow any House member to come into a secure room and read a memo prepared by Republican staff on behalf of Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif. They were not allowed to make copies or take the memo with them since it contained classified information.

Republican House members soon began putting out press releases citing what they described as the memo's "shocking" revelations that threatened democracy itself — which they declined to disclose because revealing classified information is a federal crime.

"The facts contained in this memo are jaw-dropping and demand full transparency," said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., after reading the memo. "There is no higher priority than the release of this information to preserve our democracy."

#RELEASE THE MEMO

Gaetz later coordinated a letter signed by 65 House Republicans calling on Nunes to release the memo to the public.

Today, I led a group of 65 lawmakers in a letter to Chairman Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee urging the release of the FISA Memo to the public. The American people deserve to know the information it contains. #ReleaseTheMemohttps://t.co/zcTr5QOKSQ pic.twitter.com/J6aQT7wXxN — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 20, 2018

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was among those who signed the letter. In a press release, he described the memo as "a four-page memo revealing alleged surveillance abuses in the U.S. government."

"I had the opportunity to go into a confidential setting to make sure that we can understand better what actually took place," Meadows said in a speech on the House floor last week. "And I'm here to tell all of America...that I am shocked to read exactly what has taken place. I would think it would never happen in a country that loves freedom and democracy like this country."

Although Meadows did not describe the "surveillance abuses," Republican lawmakers and even the president have alleged in the past that intelligence agencies spied on Trump and his associates during the campaign and the transition period right before Trump took office. Trump even charged that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him at Trump Tower — an allegation that the Justice Department said last fall lacks any evidence to support it.

DOJ IN THE DARK?

FBI and Department of Justice officials have complained that they have not been able to view the memo, and Democrats say the document is a misleading attempt by Nunes and other Republicans to cast doubt on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, possible collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia, and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May to conduct the investigation.

Mueller's probe has so far resulted in guilty pleas by former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign aide George Papadopoulos on charges of lying to the FBI. Former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate, Rick Gates, were charged in October with conspiracy, money laundering and acting as unregistered foreign agents. Both men pleaded not guilty.

Mueller is now reportedly seeking to interview Trump.

DEMS: DON'T DISTRACT AMERICA

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a former prosecutor who serves as the Intelligence Committee's senior Democrat, said Republicans are trying to distract from Mueller's investigation.

"The Majority voted (Thursday) on a party-line basis to grant House Members access to a profoundly misleading set of talking points drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI and its handling of the investigation," Schiff said in a statement. "Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most of Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI. This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals."

Mueller subpoenas Bannon,

Nunes produces spin memo;



Mueller interviews Sessions,

Johnson claims secret society in FBI;



Mueller calls in the President,

then what does GOP do... — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 24, 2018

In the latest twist in the controversy, Schiff and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter Tuesday to the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook asking them to conduct an immediate examination into whether Russian bots and trolls are pushing the #ReleaseTheMemo campaign online.

"If these reports are accurate, we are witnessing an ongoing attack by the Russian government through Kremlin-linked social media actors directly acting to intervene and influence our democratic process," Schiff and Feinstein wrote. "This should be disconcerting to all Americans, but especially your companies as, once again, it appears the vast majority of their efforts are concentrated on your platforms."

The social media giants have acknowledged that Russian troll farms bought ads and wrote content on Twitter and Facebook that was designed to divide Americans before and after last year's election.

"This latest example of Russian interference is in keeping with Moscow’s concerted, covert, and continuing campaign to manipulate American public opinion and erode trust in our law enforcement and intelligence institutions," Schiff and Feinstein wrote.

WILL THE HOUSE RELEASE THE MEMO?

Meanwhile, Republicans on the House committee appear to be moving closer to making their memo public.

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has helped lead the committee's Russia investigation, put out a statement over the weekend saying the panel is "seeking input from colleagues who have read the memo regarding its content and next steps, including potentially releasing the memo publicly."

He said he believes the memo — which he described as "the result of months of diligent investigation by the Committee" — should be made public. The committee would have to vote to do so. Republicans outnumber Democrats on the panel and could release it without their support.

"I will keep the public apprised of future developments as this discussion progresses," Conaway said.

Dems prepare counter attack

On Wednesday, Schiff said Democrats on the committee have prepared their own memo and want it released publicly if Republicans release theirs.

"Regrettably, it has been necessary for committee Democrats to draft our own memorandum, setting out the relevant facts and exposing the misleading character of the Republicans’ document so that members of the House are not left with an erroneous impression of the dedicated professionals at the FBI and DOJ," Schiff said.

At a committee meeting on Monday, Democrats will make a motion to allow their memo to be made available to any House members who want to come to the panel's secure room to read it, Schiff said. If Republicans vote to release the GOP memo publicly, Democrats will demand that theirs be released too.

"The Russians, who are pushing the campaign to declassify this information through its social media bots and trolls, will no doubt be thrilled," Schiff said. "We would strongly urge against this course, but would have to insist that our memorandum be likewise made public so that the entire nation is not then misled."

More: Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, defends Justice Department in wake of Trump criticism

More: House Ethics Committee closes probe of Intel Chairman Devin Nunes

More: Democrats say House Intel Committee Republicans are trying to thwart Russia probe