Posted on 02/14/2018 10:07:50 AM PST by jazusamo
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the FBI is being too heavy handed in redacting information included in a memo that Democrats compiled to offer a point-by-point rebuttal of a GOP memo released earlier this month.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) suggested the FBI is using too much red ink to try to block any new information in the memo from being made public.
"The FBI has identified in the memo, in our response, essentially everything that isn't already a matter of public record that wasn't already declassified," Schiff told reporters during a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
He argued that since the Republican memo was released to the public, as drafted by the staff of committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) - a four-page document with completely new information, the Democrats' countermemo should also be able to include new information.
"The GOP memo was all classified before it was declassified. There is a great deal in the Democratic response that has already been declassified. I think the question ought to be, ‘Is there anything that can’t be declassified in the public interest because of sources and methods for investigating ventures,'" he continued.
Schiff said he is making headway with the FBI as they continue to go through what information can be made public. The memo involves the process by which Justice Department officials applied for a surveillance warrant of a former Trump campaign aide in 2016. Republicans claim that officials relied on biased or politically-motivated information as part of their argument in favor of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act application.
"We hope to have it resolved soon so that we can make sure that we redact anything that legitimately concerns the source or method [used in the FISA application], but to meet the public interest as well as the will of the committee that as much of this can be released as possible," Schiff added.
Schiff claimed the excessive redactions by the bureau could be a result of pressure from the White House on the FBI, suggesting that President Trump doesn't want their memo to see the light of day for political purposes.
Trump has claimed the information in the earlier, Nunes memo vindicates him in the Russia probe.
Meanwhile, Schiff and other Democrats say the GOP memo is misleading and a set of cherry-picked facts.
"What it appears the FBI did, and I assume this was at the request of the White House, is identify anything in our memo that wasn’t already public," Schiff told reporters.
The White House on Friday indicated it is open to releasing the countermemo if certain information is redacted.
“The administration stands ready to work with Congress to accommodate oversight requests consistent with applicable standards, including the need to protect intelligence sources and methods,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in reference to Schiff's memo.
Schiff has repeatedly emphasized that the FBI has not dismissed their memo as inaccurate, while the bureau publicly voiced "grave concerns" over the Nunes memo.
"The FBI has as far as I can tell taken no issue with the accuracy of what we have written. So unlike the Republican memo, the Nunes memo, which they considered to be misleading and inaccurate, there is no issue on the accuracy of what we’ve written largely because we’ve taken the material facts from the FISA application," Schiff said.
Monthly and Quarterly Donations BUMP! :)
Amen to that, a pathological liar.
He was also screaming that we the Repub memo end and the FUN and national security. In fact, the the FBI was also singing that same tune which makes me wonder if this latest stint isn’t a coordinated show to save FBI face by giving people the impression that the agency is impartial Trump matters.
This is turning into a real schiff storm.
Dems are Trolls. Ignore them.
I never had any interest in reading it anyway.
Just listening to this Schiffless person puts you in a coma.
Besides it would be a combination of fake and fantasy.
How I wish autoincorrect would react itself at times.
*reDact. Cripes, there are more versions of this post than the freaking memos!
Watch out Schiffhead! Remember what Schmuckey Schumer said, “...they can get you ten ways to Sunday.”
Can someone be a pathological cretin? If so, that is this shiff-head.
Yeah, but you gotta love those buggy eyes...
Part of the uniform for pencil neck geeks.
Schiff isn’t qualified to “blast” anything.
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