Analysis: Nunes memo highlights unprecedented pressure facing FBI, DOJ

CLOSE

The FBI is adding its voice to the chorus of those opposed to the planned declassification of the so-called Nunes memo, expressing “grave concerns” over its accuracy. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) reports.
Buzz60

WASHINGTON — By the time Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray arrived Monday at the White House to make a final appeal to block the release of a classified memo alleging government surveillance abuses, a decision already had been made. 

At the White House, there was no consideration of altering a Republican-led House committee’s vote along party lines earlier in the week to disclose a document accusing the government of improperly tracking a former Trump campaign adviser. An official familiar with the meeting who was not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions said the pressure to release the document was just too great for the FBI and Justice Department leaders too great to overcome. 

President Trump has for months railed against federal law enforcement and the intelligence community, blaming them for shadowing his year in office with a probe he frequently denounces as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.” 

But the standoff over a secret memo written by at the direction of House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is striking in that the president of the United States appeared to unilaterally reject the advice of his own top officials, despite their separate warnings. In an unusual public statement Wednesday, the FBI said it had “grave concerns” for the document’s public release.

Short of the upheaval triggered by President Nixon’s orders to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, analysts say there may be no precedent for the forces that have now aligned against the FBI and Justice. Republicans in the House are appear to be siding with Trump’s questions into the credibility of the federal investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election – and raising aloud extraordinary public doubts about the institutional integrity of all federal law enforcement. 

More: Trump is expected to approve release of classified Nunes memo, aides say

More: Trump tells lawmaker he’s ‘100 percent’ in favor of releasing classified memo

With even House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., calling to “cleanse” the FBI by releasing the memo, Rosenstein and Wray have been pushed into near-untenable positions by Trump who believes the memo offers evidence that the Russia inquiry – and specifically the FBI – is biased against him. 

“I have never seen anything like this,” said William Esposito, a former FBI deputy director. “There was a time when the FBI, Justice Department and the White House could have disagreements that were legitimate disagreements. Now, it seems that every disagreement results in a constitutional crisis. The whole thing is just a mess.”

The memo dispute is only the latest in a series of clashes involving the Trump White House, Justice Department and the FBI.

Last year, Trump abruptly dismissed his FBI chief James Comey for his handling of the Russia inquiry. (Now, Wray, as Trump’s hand-picked successor, is facing his first public confrontation with the president.) And Trump publicly shamed Attorney General Jeff Sessions throughout the summer for his decision to recuse himself from the Russia case because of his prior contacts with Russia Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – a decision that led Rosenstein to oversee the special counsel probe into Russia’s election interference. 

“With Congress – specifically the Republican leadership – now jumping in, it takes this confrontation to a different level,” said Tom Fuentes, a former FBI assistant director. “It’s a dangerous time.”

Post to Facebook

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

• 1 of 13
• 2 of 13
• 3 of 13
• 4 of 13
• 5 of 13
• 6 of 13
• 7 of 13
• 8 of 13
• 9 of 13
• 10 of 13
• 11 of 13
• 12 of 13
• 13 of 13

House Intel votes to release controversial Republican memo alleging FBI spying ‘abuses’

More: Why releasing the super-secret Nunes memo is so divisive: What you need to know

For the FBI, the clash could not come at a worse time. Wray — only five months on the job — has had little time to forge key relationships in Congress that often benefited his predecessors, even if it only bought them time to face down their own crises of confidence.

The fledgling relationship was on full display Wednesday when Nunes described the FBI’s opposition to the memo’s release as “spurious.”

“Having stonewalled Congress’ demands for information for nearly a year, it’s no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies,” Nunes said. “Once the truth gets out, we can begin taking steps to ensure our intelligence agencies and courts are never misused like this again.”

Democrats, including California Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, have rallied to the defense of the FBI and Justice, claiming that the Republican action was blatantly partisan. 

But their minority voting block was not enough to stop the document’s expected release.

The effort by panel Republicans and Nunes, Schiff asserted earlier this week, “seek to protect President Trump.”

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/522079158/0/usatodaycomwashington-topstories~Analysis-Nunes-memo-highlights-unprecedented-pressure-facing-FBI-DOJ/