Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released their controversial four-page memo (posted below), despite protests from Democrats, who say the release is an attempt to protect President Trump from the investigations into his alleged relationship with Russia.

The memo, put together by committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., claims the FBI abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to spy on Trump's transition team.

Following the committee's Monday vote to release it, Trump had five days to stop its release, but didn't act, and made it clear he supported its release throughout the week. But Trump did make redactions at the request of top intelligence officials, and transmitted that slightly altered form back to the House committee on Thursday.

Washington braced for the memo Friday as Republicans rallied for its importance well into Thursday night.

On Friday morning, Trump said on Twitter that senior officials at the Justice Department and FBI have “politicized” their investigative powers.

The memo finds that:

* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.

* Andrew McCabe confirmed that no FISA warrant would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information.

* The political origins of the Steele dossier were known to senior DOJ and FBI officials, but excluded from the FISA applications.

* DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele beginning in the summer of 2016 and relayed to DOJ information about Steele's bias. Steele told Ohr that he, Steele, was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected president and was passionate about him not becoming president.



