White House open to releasing Democratic countermemo

The White House signaled Friday it is open to approving the release of a Democratic memo rebutting a newly released GOP document alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI.

“The administration stands ready to work with Congress to accommodate oversight requests consistent with applicable standards, including the need to protect intelligence sources and methods,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in reference to the Democratic memo.

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The statement could improve the chances the classified document could become public, something that would please Democrats who say the GOP memo is misleading. 

The House Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), compiled the 10-page memo to refute Republican claims in a memo compiled for the committee’s chairman that the FBI and Justice Department used a politically charged dossier to seek a surveillance warrant on a former Trump campaign adviser.

Democrats and law enforcement officials say those claims are misleading and based on incomplete information. But Republicans on the Intelligence panel had previously blocked the release of the Democratic document detailing their concerns.

Trump authorized the release of the GOP memo on Friday, calling the allegations of bias at the FBI a “disgrace.”

“It is my hope that the committee’s actions will shine a light on this alarming series of events so we can make reforms that allow the American people to have full faith and confidence in their governing institutions,” Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said in a statement following the memo’s release.