A Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee suspects President Trump ordered the declassification of select Russia-related documents versus everything in order to avoid the impression that he is meddling in the federal Russia investigation.
“I think it’s just the political concern,” Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said on Fox News after acknowledging he can’t say for sure because he hasn’t spoken with Trump about it. “The pushback and the criticism that he would fall under and the accusations that you are trying to interfere with the Mueller investigation, et cetera. I think he’s trying to be careful and to do it in a way that responds to specific concerns.”
Stewart, who said he personally read the classified documents and supports their full release, admitted that if this were Trump’s strategy, “in the long term, it’s smart for him to do it that way.”
[Devin Nunes: ‘Laughable’ to argue Trump’s declassification order endangers national security]
Stewart’s viewpoint clashes with those of Democrats who have complained that Trump’s order is limited in order to release information that is only damaging to the Justice Department and FBI, and because he seeks to discredit the Mueller operation.
“Well, the problem with how he views transparency is he thinks an ongoing investigation should have the facts that came forward so far put out, and that’s not how investigations work. And you don’t let subjects of investigations dictate the terms of investigations,” Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, a Democratic member of the intelligence panel, said on CNN earlier in the afternoon.
