The House intelligence committee voted along party lines Monday to release a controversial secret memo that alleges misconduct by the FBI during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The three-and-a-half-page memo authored by Republican Devin Nunes and his staff has become a flashpoint for Trump supporters who claim that its contents would exonerate the president in the Russia investigation. The Department of Justice has opposed its release, saying that it would be “extraordinarily reckless” and might endanger sources and methods used by the American intelligence community.

The document reportedly focuses on the decision by the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, to extend a surveillance warrant on the former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in 2017. According to the New York Times, it raises concerns that Rosenstein did not fully disclose that the warrant to surveil Page was based in part on the controversial Steele dossier. The dossier, compiled by the former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele at the behest of an American opposition research firm, uses unnamed sources to detail allegations of collusion between the Putin regime and Trump associates.

The Nunes memo has been slammed as a selectively edited document intended to prove a political point. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, told Politico that the memo was “connecting dots that don’t connect” and characterized it as part of “a coordinated effort to impede the [Russia] investigation”.

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, railed against the decision in comments to reporters on Monday night: “This is an effort to circle the wagons around the White House and distract from the Russia probe.”

He also said that the investigation had shifted to federal law enforcement rather than Russian interference in the 2016 election. “According to the majority, the FBI is under investigation and so is the Department of Justice. This is a wholesale broadside against two of our respected institutions,” said Schiff.

He noted that Democrats had prepared their own memo as a rebuttal, which Republicans voted against releasing. The California Democrat also worried that the release of the memo would risk disclosure of classified information, saying Republicans had “no intention of having this vetted”.

Nunes has long been a controversial figure in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Although the California Republican chairs the House intelligence committee, he was forced to step aside from leading it on Russia-related matters in April after he allegedly disclosed classified information in an attempt to criticize former Obama officials.

The memo will not become public right away. Under the rules of the House of Representatives, Trump has five days to decide whether the memo should become public or if it will try to block its release. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a White House spokesman, Raj Shah, said in a Monday interview with CNN that releasing the memo could “send a message of accountability” to the intelligence community.