Posted on 01/31/2018 3:48:09 AM PST by Cboldt
Timing of the release of the so-called Nunes memo is under what the press refers to as an arcane rule of the House. Here is the rule.
Rules of the House of Representatives
RULE X - ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
11. (a)(1) There is established a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ...
(g)(1) The select committee may disclose publicly any information in its possession after a determination by the select committee that the public interest would be served by such disclosure. With respect to the disclosure of information for which this paragraph requires action by the select committee -
(A) the select committee shall meet to vote on the matter within five days after a member of the select committee requests a vote; and
(B) a member of the select committee may not make such a disclosure before a vote by the select committee on the matter, or after a vote by the select committee on the matter except in accordance with this paragraph.
(2)(A) In a case in which the select committee votes to disclose publicly any information that has been classified under established security procedures, that has been submitted to it by the executive branch, and that the executive branch requests be kept secret, the select committee shall notify the President of such vote.
(B) The select committee may disclose publicly such information after the expiration of a five-day period following the day on which notice of the vote to disclose is transmitted to the President unless, before the expiration of the five-day period, the President, personally in writing, notifies the select committee that the President objects to the disclosure of such information, provides reasons therefor, and certifies that the threat to the national interest of the United States posed by the disclosure is of such gravity that it outweighs any public interest in the disclosure.
(C) If the President, personally in writing, notifies the select committee of objections to the disclosure of information as provided in subdivision (B), the select committee may, by majority vote, refer the question of the disclosure of such information, with a recommendation thereon, to the House. The select committee may not publicly disclose such information without leave of the House.
Brief analysis and remarks.
Release of the memo is a committee-driven process, not a White House driven process. Timing is on the committee's schedule, not the presidents. The rule has no provision for presidential approval, only for presidential objection.
Note that the right to object is personal to the president, and must be in writing. The committee has to wait five days.
Note too the standard for objection. The objection must certify that "the threat to the national interest of the United States posed by the disclosure is of such gravity that it outweighs any public interest." Don't look for the press to inform you of that standard.
Finally, it is NOT in the president's interest to put anything in writing on this subject. The press has labeled Nunes as hyper-partisan. If Trump communicates a go-ahead, especially as such a mechanism doesn't exist in the rules, the press will report that he too is hyper-partisan on this subject.
MAGA
So this Wednesday? Today?!?
And the Repubs must follow the law..... but the DEMS?????
One instance where POTUS can stand back and watch.....Congress is actually doing their jobs for a change.
Winning
MAGA
Swamp Drain
“If Trump communicates a go-ahead, especially as such a mechanism doesn’t exist in the rules, the press will report that he too is hyper-partisan on this subject.”
But he did just that in a comment to a congressman as he exited the House Chamber last evening.
That would blow a successful State of the Union speech out of the media spotlight. Give it a couple of days and then release it.
Or, if they do, it'll be after 5PM on Friday, which apparently is the preference for an embarrassing document dump.
By following the law, the Republicans blocked the Democrat's memo that would have projected all blame onto Trump.
Oh please. Of course he and his spox can make remarks. That is not the same as a formal communication to the Committee, as laid out in the rules.
Seriously, is it your contention that a verbal remark in response, satisfies the rule posted in the OP?
As for the general proposition that the press will report Trump as responsible even for timely (next week) for the release, of course it will. That drum has been beating for a week already, that Trump is highly irresponsible (see Boyd letter) to allow the memo to be released. I know it is a fine point, but absence of objection (and see the standard for objecting) is not the same as taking initiative. The committee has the initiative, and the committee is following its own process. The committee will release the memo, not Trump.
Is there anyone who doesn't think that the Democrat memo won't be leaked within hours of the release of the Republican memo?
I think the committee will release it on Monday the 5th of February, although it could be released on Saturday. Friday is inside the five day period.
I’ll bet Friday night is the uniparty’s preference.
Wouldn’t hurt if we added CIVICS classes back into the High School curriculum, either...
Civics classes were removed for a reason.
Good luck getting them back.
link?
before it maybe, to steal the oxygen...
Ironically, it was republicans on the committee that moved to advance the Schiff memo to release. The Schiff memo will go through the same process that the Nunes memo did. The republicans don't object to release of the Schiff memo.
One has called it an example of the Chewbacca defense; "to deliberately confuse the jury rather than to factually refute the case of the other side."
Schiff didn't compose and offer his memo weeks ago because he advocates against transparency on this subject. But he's not been blocked.
The only reason the republicans didn't vote to release it to the public, when they voted to do so for the Nunes memo (that vote was Monday) was that they had not seen the Schiff memo so had no way to evaluate it for what classified information it might have disclosed.
So this Wednesday? Today?!?
—
Based on reading the statute, it looks like the memo would be available 5 days after it was presented to Trump for review. It is released *unless* within the 5-day window the President requests that it *not* be released. As Trump wants the memo release, he simply lets the 5 days pass and the memo is then released.
I believe the Rats version will be release when the Prez thinks it’s the right time. Along with the raw version with minimal redacting.
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