House Votes to Release DOJ Surveillance Memo

The House Intelligence Committee on Monday evening voted to make public a GOP-crafted memo alleging what some Republicans say are “shocking” surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

At the same time, the committee voted against making public a Democrat-drafted countermemo.

While the panel voted to release that memo to the entire House, Republicans expressed concern that publicly releasing the minority memo would damage sensitive intelligence sources and methods, according to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the committee’s ranking member . . .

The move ends weeks of speculation over whether the memo, which was drafted by staff for Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), would be made public. But it intensifies the dispute over what Democrats say is an all-out assault by Republicans to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Stone-faced committee Democrats appeared in a phalanx after the vote, decrying what Schiff described as the crossing of “a deeply regrettable line in this committee, where for the first time in the 10 years I’ve been on the committee, there was a vote to politicize the declassification process of intelligence.” (Read more from “House Votes to Release DOJ Surveillance Memo” HERE)

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