Global InformationNunes memo information
The Nunes memo (formally titled Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation)[2] is a four-page memorandum written for U.S. Representative Devin Nunes by his staff and released to the public by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee on February 2, 2018. The memo alleges that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "may have relied on politically motivated or questionable sources" to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant in October 2016 and in three subsequent renewals on Trump adviser Carter Page in the early phases of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[3]
Nunes was the chairman of the committee at the time and was a supporter of FISA surveillance extension.[4][5] Former Trump campaign CEO and chief strategist Steve Bannon has described Nunes as Trump's second-strongest ally in Congress.[6] In April 2017, Nunes stepped aside from chairing the House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation while the House Ethics Committee conducted an inquiry into whether Nunes had violated applicable ethics rules with respect to his apparent secret coordination with White House officials. Nunes then began his own parallel secret investigation. The Ethics Committee investigation ended in December 2017, after which Nunes claimed that he had never recused himself.[7][8]
Republican legislators who favored public release of the memo argued that the memo presents evidence that a group of politically biased FBI employees abused the FISA warrant process for the purpose of undermining the Donald Trump presidency.[9] These congressmen alleged that there was excessive and improper dependence on the Steele dossier, which was funded in part by the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, when the Justice Department applied to the FISA court to conduct electronic surveillance on Trump aide Carter Page during the course of the campaign.[10][11] Political allies of Donald Trump attempted to use the memo to pivot attention away from the Special Counsel investigation of the Trump presidential campaign's role in Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[9] Prior to release of the memo, news media reported that Trump told his associates that release of the memo would discredit the investigation.[12][13][14]
A social media campaign, under the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo, emerged in mid-January 2018 to publicly release the memo despite some of its classified contents. Journalist and national security advocacy groups reported that Russian-linked bots on Twitter helped spread the controversial hashtag.[15][16][17][18] Trump approved release of the Republican document over the objections of the FBI and the U.S. Intelligence Community.[19] The FBI issued a rare statement expressing "grave concerns" about factual omissions and the accuracy of the memo.[19][20] Within Congress, anticipation of the release of the memo sparked controversy, mainly along political lines. House Republicans released the memo on February 2, 2018.
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee prepared a classified 10 page rebuttal of claims in the Nunes memo, which was initially blocked for release. After the Nunes memo was released to the public, the House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to release the Democrats' memo.[21] On February 9, Trump blocked release of the Democrats' memo, saying the committee should redact classified and sensitive material before releasing it to the public.[22][23] A redacted version of the Democratic memo was ultimately released on February 24.[24]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Jarrettwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sorkin, Amy Davidson (February 2, 2018). "Why Were the Democrats So Worried About the Nunes Memo?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Parker, Ashley; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Dawsey, Josh; Leonnig, Carol D. (January 27, 2018). "Trump sought release of classified Russia memo, putting him at odds with Justice Department". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
... investigation into Russian meddling ... written by staff members for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and suggests that the FBI may have relied on politically motivated or questionable sources to justify its request for a secret surveillance warrant in the investigation's early phase.
- ^ "Nunes Statement on Passage of FISA 702 Bill". U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. January 11, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Yuhas, Alan (February 1, 2018). "Who is Devin Nunes and why is he sowing confusion in the Russia inquiry?". the Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
he has strongly supported government surveillance powers since he was elected in 2002 to Congress
- ^ Zengerle, Jason (April 24, 2018). "How Devin Nunes Turned the House Intelligence Committee Inside Out". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
- ^ Bresnahan, John; Dawsey, Josh (April 6, 2017). "Nunes steps aside from Russia probe". POLITICO.
- ^ Schor, Elana (December 7, 2017). "Ethics Committee clears Rep. Devin Nunes". POLITICO.
- ^ a b Savage, Charlie (January 30, 2018). "The Real Aim of the Nunes Memo Is the Mueller Investigation". The New York Times.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
EmmonsAaronsonwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Changwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Liptak, Kevin; Collins, Kaitlan (February 1, 2018). "Trump sees Nunes memo as a way to discredit the Russia investigation". KITV. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ Liptak, Kevin; Collins, Kaitlan; Murray, Sara; Merica, Dan (February 2, 2018). "Trump moves toward releasing memo he hopes will undermine Russia probe". CNN. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Greenwood, Max (February 1, 2018). "Trump telling people Nunes memo will discredit Mueller probe: report". The Hill. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Russia-linked Twitter accounts are working overtime to help Devin Nunes and WikiLeaks". Business Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ Ryan Sit (January 24, 2018). "Russian Bots Might Be Behind Controversial #ReleaseTheMemo Campaign, Democrats Say". Newsweek. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ "Right-wing demand to #ReleaseTheMemo endorsed by Russian bots, trolls". NBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ "How Twitter Bots and Trump Fans Made #ReleaseTheMemo Go Viral". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ a b Leonnig, Carol; Dawsey, Josh (February 1, 2018). "Trump to approve release of GOP memo Friday over objections from law enforcement, intelligence community". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Lucas, Ryan; Neuman, Scott (January 31, 2018). "FBI Warns Of 'Grave Concerns' About 'Accuracy' Of GOP Snooping Memo". NPR. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Raju, Manu; Herb, Jeremy (February 6, 2018). "House Intelligence Committee unanimously votes to release Democratic memo". CNN. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ Shear, Michael D.; Fandos, Nicholas (February 9, 2018). "Trump Blocks Release of Memo Rebutting Republican Claims". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ "Trump Will Not Immediately Release Democratic Memo, Suggests Revisions". NPR.org. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ Jeremy Herb (February 24, 2018). "Democratic intelligence memo released with redactions". CNN.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.