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Carter Page: I Wanted 'Illegitimate' FISA Application Released, Memo Seems To Be 'Next Best Thing'

Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page said that the release of a memo authored by Republican lawmakers alleging abuses by the FBI and Justice Department is the "next best thing" to law enforcement officials releasing their application for a surveillance warrant targeting him during the 2016 race.

Page told Rolling Stone that he had sent letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI requesting that the agencies release the application, which he has said was unjust.

"I originally hoped that DOJ and the FBI would've released my illegitimate FISA application when I requested it last May, but it's been eight months since I submitted my Privacy Act/[Freedom of Information Act] request letters to them and I haven't received any of that information yet," he told Rolling Stone, using an acronym for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"This short, 4-page summary of the abuses seems to be the next best thing," Page added.

The House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines on Monday to release the memo, which alleges that the FBI and Justice Department acted improperly in obtaining a surveillance order on Page during the 2016 presidential race as law enforcement officials began looking into possible Russian meddling in the election.

Republicans have said that releasing the memo is necessary because it sheds light on possible abuses by federal law enforcement officials and the beginnings of the Russia investigation.

Critics say the release could expose classified information and undermine the FBI's credibility. The FBI said Wednesday that it has "grave concerns" about the accuracy of the memo.

President Trump, who is widely expected to approve its release, still has three days left to review the memo and determine whether to allow it to be made public. A hot microphone caught the president on Tuesday night telling a lawmaker that he was "100 percent" behind the memo's release.