Trump is expected to approve release of classified Nunes memo, aides say

Show Caption Hide Caption FBI has 'grave concerns' about accuracy of classified Nunes memo The FBI is adding its voice to the chorus of those opposed to the planned declassification of the so-called Nunes memo, expressing "grave concerns" over its accuracy. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) reports.

WASHINGTON – President Trump is expected to tell a House panel on Friday that he approves of the release of a classified Republican memo alleging the FBI and Justice Department abused their surveillance authorities – despite the objections from his own FBI director and other intelligence officials.

The four-page memo, written at the direction of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has been reviewed by Trump and his aides, and the president has no problems with releasing it, said two administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

After the House panel voted on Monday to release the memo, the FBI took the extraordinary step of airing its misgivings in public, saying it had "grave concerns” about the accuracy of the memo.

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The president and his aides seriously considered the concerns of Wray and others, but believe release of the memo will not expose sources and methods of obtaining classified information, the officials said.

According to some reports, the memo accuses Justice Department officials of obtaining a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on an adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign by using an unverified dossier from a former British intelligence official.

Democrats said the memo omits other evidence – still classified – that allowed the government to secure the warrant on a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser and that Trump and Nunes are seeking to undermine the Russia investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Complicating matters further, the committee's top Democrat Adam Schiff wrote Nunes a letter on Wednesday charging that "material changes" had been made to the memo after the committee voted on it – and that the version handed over to the White House "is not, in fact, the same document."

Jack Langer, a spokesman for Nunes, says the changes are only minor.

More: Rep. Schiff: Nunes gave the White House a secretly altered memo

Democrats pounced on Thursday ahead of the expected release.

This "pattern of obstruction and cover-up to hide the truth about the Trump-Russia scandal represents a threat to our intelligence and our national security," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., calling for Nunes's removal as chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

The FBI on Thursday stood by its opposition to the memo’s release, but bureau officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment on internal affairs said they do not expect director Christopher Wray to resign over its release.

Trump picked Wray to succeed James Comey, whose abrupt May firing by the president is the subject of an obstruction of justice being conducted by Mueller and his team.

Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein went to the White House Monday to oppose the release of the Nunes memo.

The Justice Department last week also called the prospect of the document’s disclosure “extraordinarily reckless.”

Democrats said they are concerned they fear Trump could use the memo to fire Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to his position, and to ultimately dismiss Mueller himself.

Republicans appear undeterred. Ryan on Thursday defended the release of the memo, but said the memo does not "implicate" Mueller or Rosenstein.

"This is about us holding the system accountable and reviewing whether or not FISA abuses occurred," Ryan said.

Contributing: Eliza Collins