The controversial memo that allegedly outlines surveillance violations by the U.S. government and written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., will likely be released Thursday, according to a report Thursday evening.
A White House official told Reuters about the expected date for Trump to provide his consent for the controversial report’s unveiling to the public.
A request for comment from the White House was not immediately returned.
Dozens of Republican lawmakers have for weeks sought the public release of the memo and claim it contains evidence of violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The memo, which describes classified material from the FBI and Justice Department, reportedly says incorrect statements from “Trump dossier” author Christopher Steele about Trump associates’ connections to Russia were included in an approved application to put Carter Page, a Trump campaign official, under surveillance.
However, current and former law enforcement officials have said other information was also used to justify the surveillance application. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have brushed of the information in the memo, calling it “talking points” that are leading a “false narrative.”
Democrats from the intelligence panel recently announced they would put together their own memo to refute the Nunes memo, but when the committee voted Monday to release the Nunes memo to the public, they rejected doing the same for the Democratic report. The panel did vote to allow the entire House access to the memo from the Democratic side.
After President Trump was caught on a hot mic right after his State of the Union address telling a GOP lawmaker he would “100 percent” release the Nunes memo, White House chief of staff John Kelly said he expected the memo will be “released here pretty quick.”
The White House’s apparent willingness to release the memo clashes with a rare public statement from the FBI, which warned Wednesday it had “grave concerns” about the classified memo and said it includes “material omissions of fact.”
