President Donald Trump accused Rep. Adam Schiff on Twitter of "illegally" leaking "confidential information" obtained at committee hearings. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Trump praises Nunes' 'tremendous courage and grit' amid memo fallout

President Donald Trump on Monday said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes "may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero" for spearheading the release of a controversial GOP memo alleging wrongdoing by FBI officials.

"Representative Devin Nunes, a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!" the president tweeted.


The missive came just hours after the president slammed Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the top ranking Democrat on the House intelligence panel and one of the most outspoken critics of the GOP memo, as "one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington."

Trump accused Schiff on Twitter of "illegally" leaking "confidential information" obtained at committee hearings, extending his streak of attacks on government intelligence leaks.

Over the weekend, the president claimed the release of the GOP document, which he approved on Friday, "totally vindicates" him of wrongdoing in the ongoing probes into Russian election interference and ties between Trump campaign officials and the Kremlin.

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The assertion was immediately contested by Democratic and intelligence officials, who have expressed heavy skepticism over the document's findings alleging that FBI officials improperly obtained a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

"Quite to the contrary, even this very flawed memo demonstrates what the origin of the investigation was and that origin involved the issue of collusion," Schiff said Sunday on ABC in response to the president's remarks.

Trump green-lighted the memo's release over objections from top ranking Justice Department and FBI officials, who publicly called into question its accuracy and credibility.

Democrats have called on the House intelligence panel and the White House to approve the disclosure of a dueling memo crafted by Schiff and other lawmakers intended to serve as a counterweight to the memo compiled by Nunes' staff.

Trump's praise of Nunes came on the heels of a Monday morning interview of the lawmaker on Fox News in which he touted the approval of the memo's release.

“What we’re trying to do is just get the American public to understand what happened in this last election," Nunes said.