Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Friday that Democrats on the panel will review recommended redactions to a minority-authored memo after President Trump moved to block its release.
The Democratic memo is intended to rebut a GOP document released last week alleging that the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) misused their authority to obtain a surveillance order on a former Trump campaign adviser.
In a letter sent Friday to Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), White House counsel Don McGahn said that the president had declined to release the Democratic memo because it posed “significant concerns” for U.S. national security.
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Schiff blasted that decision, accusing Trump of harboring a double standard in blocking the Democratic memo after he approved the release of the GOP-drafted memo despite objections from the FBI and DOJ.
Schiff said Intelligence Committee Democrats had submitted the memo to the DOJ and FBI for vetting before the panel voted to release the document, and that minority members of the committee would review redactions recommended by the agencies.
“We will be reviewing the recommended redactions from DOJ and FBI, which these agencies shared with the White House, and look forward to conferring with the agencies to determine how we can properly inform the American people about the misleading attack on law enforcement by the GOP and address any concerns over sources and methods,” he said in a statement.
Democrats fiercely criticized the Republican memo, which they said omitted key facts that would have put the information in the proper context. They have accused Republicans of seeking to undermine the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election in order to protect Trump from scrutiny.