<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d76646b2e22af74d53b6348-1500/astou%20ndour.jpg" border="0" alt="Astou Ndour" data-mce-source="AP Photo/John Bazemore" /></div></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>WNBA referee Kevin Fahy is facing criticism for his extravagant ejection of Chicago Sky center Astou Ndour.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>Fahy walked into Ndour during the second quarter while looking in the opposite direction. He immediately ejected Ndour, despite the contact being minimal and unintentional.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>Many felt the ejection was over-the-top and uncalled for.</strong></li><li><strong>Chicago was defeated by the Washington Mystics 100-82.</strong></li><li><strong>The WNBA announced on Monday that the league rescinded the technical foul and subsequent ejection.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>WNBA referee Kevin Fahy is facing criticism for his extravagant ejection of Chicago Sky center Astou Ndour.&#xa0;</p><p>The call occurred in the second quarter between the Sky and Washington Mystics.</p><p>Ndour was having a conversation with teammate Allie Quigley and signaling something with her wrist when Fahy walked into Ndour's arm. He was not looking towards Ndour when he bumped into her.&#xa0;</p><p>Fahy immediately ejected Ndour from the game despite the minimal and unintentional contact.&#xa0;</p><p>According to WNBA rules, any contact between a player and referee should result in an ejection. However, due to the nature of the contact, many felt the ejection was uncalled for.</p><p>Sky head coach James Wade <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky-and-wnba/2019/9/9/20856871/wnba-rescinds-sky-forward-astou-ndours-technical-foul-which-resulted-in-an-ejection">disputed the call</a>, which was reviewed by three officials before Ndour was escorted off the court by security.</p><p>"I have always shown great respect for the referees and my career supports me," Ndour wrote on Twitter. "I still don't understand very well what happened today and I don't agree, but I respect the decision. I will continue to work hard. Let's go."&#xa0;</p><p>The WNBA announced on Monday that the league rescinded the technical foul and ejection, stating it "should not have been assessed."<span></span></p><ul class="read-more-links"><li><strong>Read more:</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-offers-antonio-brown-stay-house-patriots-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Tom Brady is offering to let Antonio Brown stay at his $39.5 million house while he adjusts to his move to the Patriots</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dolphins-players-request-trade-miami-tank-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Multiple Dolphins players reportedly requested to be traded after embarrassing 59-10 loss because the team is tanking</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/odell-beckham-jr-browns-watch-richard-mille-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Odell Beckham Jr. wore a watch reportedly worth $350,000 while playing his first game with the Cleveland Browns</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-soccer-players-in-mls-ranked-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">The 15 highest-paid soccer players in MLS</a></li></ul><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I have always shown great respect for the referees and my career supports me.I still don't understand very well what happened today and I don't agree, but I respect the decision.I will continue to work hard.Let's go <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quickturn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quickturn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bigchallengecoming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bigchallengecoming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Playoffstime?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Playoffstime</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyTown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyTown</a>@WNBA⁩ <a href="https://t.co/2jWNlcCXYy">pic.twitter.com/2jWNlcCXYy</a></p>- Astou Ndour  (@NdouraStou) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1170845326963597312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

A WNBA referee is being slammed for ejecting Astou Ndour after bumping into her

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ad0c829146e711f008b4862-2000/ap16187554278460.jpg" border="0" alt="james comey" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Cliff Owen" data-mce-caption="FBI Director James Comey makes a statement at FBI Headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, July 5, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/Cliff Owen</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last May.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Both sides of the political aisle reacted strongly to the Justice Department inspector general's report about the FBI's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.</strong></li><li><strong>The report faults Comey for "deviating" from FBI norms and says that while his actions "cast a cloud" over the FBI, they were not influenced by political bias.</strong></li><li><strong>President Donald Trump's allies see the report as a vindication of their belief that the FBI acted improperly.</strong></li><li><strong>Democrats accuse the White House and conservatives of using the report to distract from the special counsel's Russia investigation.</strong></li></ul><p><em>Sign up for the latest Russia investigation updates <a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/the-russia-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> »</em></p><hr /><p>It's no secret that former FBI director James Comey has been a lightning rod for both Democrats and Republicans over the last few years.</p><p>On Thursday, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/comey-report-doj-inspector-general-fbi-clinton-emails-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a critical report from the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General</a> about the FBI's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state stirred things up even more.</p><p>Among other things, the report found that Comey "deviated" from FBI norms while overseeing the Clinton investigation, and that he usurped the attorney general's authority when he called an impromptu July 2016 press conference announcing that the FBI would not be recommending charges against Clinton, who was the Democratic presidential nominee at the time.</p><p>The report also said senior FBI officials <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/strzok-page-fbi-texted-well-stop-trump-from-being-president-ig-report-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Strzok and Lisa Page may have had a "willingness to take official action"</a> to hurt Donald Trump's chances of winning the election.</p><p>Inspector general Michael Horowitz concluded that while Comey's and others' actions "cast a cloud" over the FBI, their decisions related to the Clinton investigation were not motivated by political bias or "improper considerations." Horowitz added that while Strzok's and Page's text messages to one another raised questions, investigators found no evidence that they acted improperly or sought to influence the outcome of the investigation.</p><p>Here's how lawmakers and pundits on both sides of the aisle reacted:</p><h2>On the Republican side: 'The whole Comey allegation is just as phony as a $3 bill'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b1849001ae66246008b4dff-800/rtx67hng.jpg" border="0" alt="Rudy Giuliani" data-mce-source="Jonathan Ernst/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Rudy Giuliani." /><p class="source"><span>Jonathan Ernst/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Rudy Giuliani celebrated the report's release.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Many of Trump's allies are worried the president is vulnerable in the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which is looking at whether Trump sought to obstruct justice when he fired Comey last year.</p><p>For that reason, his defenders seized on the report to justify Comey's ouster and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Russia investigation as a whole.</p><p><strong>Rudy Giuliani</strong>, the former New York mayor who leads Trump's personal defense team, told Business Insider in a recent interview that Trump's team was "anxiously awaiting" the inspector general's report because it would show "the lengths these guys went to to hurt the president."</p><p><strong>John Dowd</strong>, the white-collar defense attorney who spearheaded Trump's legal team until his resignation in March, said he believed "the whole Comey allegation is just as phony as a $3 bill."</p><p>"This is one of the greatest frauds I've ever seen - this whole Mueller probe, his appointment, everything," Dowd said. "Comey conned everyone, and I've written that and conveyed it to Bob [Mueller]. It's ridiculous. He should be investigating Comey."</p><p>Sen. <strong>Orrin Hatch</strong> of Utah, a top Republican, said in a statement after the report's release that it confirmed what he had "long suspected" - that there were "serious errors" in the FBI's and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation.</p><p>"Today's report is an important step toward ensuring that those mistakes are not repeated in future investigations," he said.</p><p>Some Republican lawmakers were more aggressive in their responses.</p><p>Reps. <strong>Matt Gaetz</strong>, <strong>Andy Biggs</strong>, and <strong>Ron DeSantis</strong> sent a letter to Horowitz earlier on Thursday requesting all the drafts of the report.</p><p>"We are concerned ... people may have changed the report in a way that obfuscates your findings," they said.</p><p>The <strong>Republican National Committee</strong>, meanwhile, has thrown its weight behind discrediting Comey as a witness. The RNC <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lyin-comey-rnc-website-discredits-james-comey-before-book-tour-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created the website lyincomey.com</a>, drawing from one of Trump's many monikers for the former FBI director, to push its agenda.</p><h2>On the Democrat side: It's distracting from the legitimate Mueller investigation</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58803768f10a9a98468b8892-2000/undefined" border="0" alt="Mike Quigley" data-mce-source="Getty / Chip Somodevilla" data-mce-caption="New Democratic Coalition member Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) participates in a news conference about the impending 'fiscal cliff' and other economic issues November 15, 2012 in Washington, DC." /><p class="source"><span>Getty / Chip Somodevilla</span></p><p class="caption">Rep. Mike Quigley chastised Trump's allies of ""conducting rogue, partisan investigations" into law enforcement.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Democrats, on the other hand, accused the president and his allies of using the IG report to distract from the Russia investigation.</p><p>Rep. <strong>Adam Schiff</strong>, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the IG report proves the FBI's and DOJ's actions in the run-up to the election helped Trump and hurt Clinton.</p><p>"If anti-Trump bias had influenced the conduct of the FBI's investigations, then Comey would have disclosed the Russia investigation and its details to the public and the Congress before the election," Schiff said.</p><p>He also agreed with the report's finding that the DOJ shouldn't share information with Congress about an ongoing investigation if there's a risk it could be leaked or a lawmaker might release it. Schiff said he was concerned since Republicans have repeatedly tried to force the DOJ to give them information about the Russia probe.</p><p>Rep. <strong>Mike Quigley</strong>, another Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump's allies were "conducting rogue, partisan investigations into the law enforcement agencies that have protected our country for decades."</p><p>Quigley added that he believes the report "will be perpetuated by every individual in the Trump orbit to once again shift focus and distract attention away from the very real, very credible Russia investigation, which the president will continue to call a 'Witch Hunt' to anyone who will listen."</p><p>Sen. <strong>Dick Durbin</strong> of Illinois said in a statement that the report showed that Comey and other FBI officials broke the rules, and in doing so, hurt the Clinton campaign and aided the Trump campaign. He also warned that Trump and his loyalists "will continue to try to impugn and impede" Mueller's investigation.</p><p>"But this report makes clear just how important it is for the Special Counsel's investigation to proceed wherever the facts and the law take it - consistent with Department of Justice policies and free from <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> or political inference," Durbin said.</p><h2>How Comey and Trump reacted</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5932c09f79474c0c058b54b2-800/trump comey combo.jpg" border="0" alt="trump comey combo.JPG" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. President Donald Trump (L) speaks in Ypilanti Township, Michigan March 15, 2017 and FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., May 3, 2017 in a combination of file photos." /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump; former FBI Director James Comey.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In a briefing Thursday afternoon, the White House press secretary <strong>Sarah Huckabee Sanders</strong> said the report "reaffirmed the president's suspicions about Comey's conduct and about the political bias of some members of the FBI."</p><p><strong>Comey</strong> said in a statement posted to Twitter shortly after the report's release that he respects the OIG and "urged" the office to conduct its review.</p><p>"The conclusions are reasonable, even though I disagree with some," he added. "People of good faith can see an unprecedented situation differently. I pray no Director faces it again. Thanks to IG's people for hard work."</p><p><strong>Trump</strong> hasn't specifically tweeted about the IG report yet, but it's likely a matter of time.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-at-the-trump-north-korea-summit-2018-6">Why the North Korea summit mattered even if it was 'mostly a photo op'</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/as3RdgEx-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Blistering DOJ watchdog report about Comey and the Clinton investigation sends Washington into a frenzy

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5afdb1201ae66232008b46e8-2000/ap18136748134801.jpg" border="0" alt="donald trump" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Evan Vucci" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable on immigration policy in California, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Washington." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/Evan Vucci</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump has upped his attacks on the justice apparatus this week.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>National-security experts and legal experts were "gobsmacked" by senior White House officials' attendance Thursday at a classified briefing about the Russia investigation and a suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign.</strong></li><li><strong>The White House chief of staff, the White House counsel, three GOP lawmakers, and one Democrat met with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, FBI director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to glean more details about the suspected informant and other details of the Russia probe.</strong></li><li><strong>One former FBI official described the situation, and President Donald Trump's and his allies' broadsides against the DOJ, as a "f---ing circus."</strong></li></ul><p><em>Sign up for the latest Russia investigation updates <a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/the-russia-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here »</a></em></p><hr /><p>The president's chief of staff and the White House counsel attended a classified briefing Thursday with top Justice Department officials and lawmakers about an investigation into the president and his associates - and the events have floored national-security experts and former intelligence officials.</p><p>When the White House announced the first of the two briefings earlier this week, it said chief of staff John Kelly would not be attending.</p><p>One former FBI official said they were "gobsmacked" when they learned the chief of staff would be present after all.</p><p>"This is an investigation centering squarely around the president and his cohorts," said this person, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "And we've got the president's chief of staff attending a classified briefing - and getting sensitive intelligence - about said investigation. It's a f---ing circus."</p><p>When it emerged later that Emmet Flood, the new White House counsel, also attended the briefing, the person added: "This is truly mind-boggling."</p><p>Renato Mariotti, a longtime former federal prosecutor in Chicago, expressed a similar view.</p><p>"It is completely inappropriate for a lawyer representing a subject of the investigation to attend the congressional oversight meeting in which nonpublic information about the investigation was revealed," he <a href="https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/999716117705838592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> following the first briefing. "What possible legitimate purpose could his attendance have served?"</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5af5a0ed1ae5f321008b489a-1776/ap18127753066177.jpg" border="0" alt="john kelly" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Andrew Harnik" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly arrives for a first lady Melania Trump initiative event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, May 7, 2018, in Washington." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/Andrew Harnik</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly attended the first classified briefing on Thursday.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The first briefing Thursday included Kelly, Flood, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, FBI director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes and ranking member Adam Schiff, House Oversight Committee chairman Trey Gowdy, and House Speaker Paul Ryan.</p><p>Schiff was invited at the last minute after Democrats slammed Nunes and Gowdy for what they described as a partisan briefing that could be weaponized against the DOJ and the special counsel Robert Mueller.</p><p>The second briefing included Kelly, Rosenstein, Wray, Nunes, Schiff, and most other members of the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group consisting of the Republican and Democratic leaders of the intelligence committees and the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate. Ryan, citing scheduling conflicts, said he would not be able to attend the second briefing.</p><p>Thursday's briefings come as tensions between the White House and DOJ are at a boiling point, with the Russia investigation, Mueller, and a suspected FBI informant at the eye of the storm.</p><p>The individual's identity was confidential at first but several media outlets later reported that Stefan Halper, a veteran of previous Republican administrations and a former professor emeritus at Cambridge University who was in touch with several members of the Trump campaign, was the informant.</p><p>Reports about the source sparked a flurry of unproven accusations from Trump and his loyalists that the FBI was spying on the Trump campaign during the election. The president subsequently requested that the DOJ investigate the matter.</p><p>The DOJ agreed to Thursday's briefings, both of which include details about the informant and the Russia probe, after a series of back-and-forths with Congressional Republicans and the White House over protecting the person's safety.</p><h2>White House accused of playing <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b0708f21ae66244008b467e-2000/ap18144537218710.jpg" border="0" alt="justice department russia probe fbi informant" style="color: #000000;" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin" data-mce-caption="Security works at the Department of Justice as the building is reflected in the hood of a car, Thursday, May 24, 2018, ahead of a group meeting about the Trump Russia probe in Washington. Among the people expected to meet at the request of President Donald Trump are House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Ed O'Callaghan, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Russia-Probe/6a3311d2047a4d57a42d89e0a010a3bb/1/0" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Russia-Probe/6a3311d2047a4d57a42d89e0a010a3bb/1/0">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</a></span></p><p class="caption">Security works where the classified briefings were held at the Department of Justice as the building is reflected in the hood of a car, Thursday, May 24, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/politics/house-gop-justice-meeting-gang-of-8-nunes/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Wednesday that Trump told Kelly he wanted Thursday's briefings to appear nonpartisan, and to ensure that Democrats were able to view the classified intelligence so the White House would not look like it was playing politics.</p><p>Trump was reportedly annoyed when it emerged that Democrats were initially barred from the first briefing, because he did not want the revelation to overshadow what he believes to be the bigger picture: a conspiracy against him and his administration by the top ranks of the DOJ and FBI.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kelly's and Flood's attendance likely further complicated the optics.</p><p>Robert Deitz, the former general counsel at the National Security Agency and senior counsel at the CIA, said he was "astonished" that Democrats were initially shut out of the first briefing and that Kelly and Flood were present as White House officials.</p><p>"It's almost like Kelly's there as a minder," Deitz said. "This is always the tricky part of investigating the President of the United States. The investigators are working under the guy being investigated."</p><p>Kelly's and Flood's "presence there is certainly not helpful, particularly in a case like this."</p><p>The chief of staff's and White House counsel's attendance went far from unnoticed by Democratic lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee.</p><p>Rep. Mike Quigley, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, slammed Nunes' broadsides against the DOJ and said Kelly's and Flood's presence only assisted Nunes' "underlying mission: to protect the president's political reputation at all costs."</p><p>"The partisan probe into our law enforcement agencies is a farce, and all of those in Trump's inner circle are on board," Quigley added.</p><h2>The danger of leaks</h2><p>Meanwhile, national-security experts sounded the alarm over what they characterized as the "troublesome" revelation of the identity of the suspected FBI informant and details about the individual that were likely shared in Thursday's briefings.</p><p>"This puts the intelligence community and the DOJ in a bind, no question about it," Deitz said. "The fact that Halper's name has been released or leaked is a problem."</p><p>He added that while the US's reputation makes it unlikely for allies to sever ties completely, "it certainly may make foreign allies in some circumstances hesitant to reveal the crown jewels."</p><p>The former FBI official echoed that view, highlighting the potential obstacles that could arise in the US's intelligence-gathering process with its partners.</p><p>"Trust is the single most important factor in the intelligence community," they said. "Human intelligence sources are the FBI's greatest asset, especially when it comes to assessing foreign threats. How many people are going to want to do that work if there's a risk, aggravated by the White House, that their name will be leaked and their life threatened if the president is unhappy?"</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ian-bremmer-globalism-american-dream-dead-chinese-dream-alive-2018-5">Ian Bremmer: Why the American dream doesn't exist anymore</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/MQmNu6tW-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

'It's a f---ing circus': Experts are floored that White House officials attended highly classified briefings about the Russia probe

2022 WNBA Season Preview: Championship picks, storylines and must-watch matchups

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a5d26ec28eecc110f8b4d8e-2000/devinnunes.jpg" alt="devin nunes" data-mce-source="AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite" data-mce-caption="House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</span></p><p class="caption">House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The FBI released a statement Wednesday warning against releasing a controversial memo authored by embattled House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes.</strong></li><li><strong>The confidential memo purports to show that the Department of Justice and FBI improperly surveilled the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.</strong></li><li><strong>The memo has added fuel to partisan infighting, but current and former intelligence officials have largely downplayed its claims.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />In an unusual move, the FBI on Wednesday released a <a href="https://twitter.com/KatieBoWill/status/958754904461512704" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public statement</a> warning about the inaccuracies contained in a memo authored by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes.</p><p>The memo, which purports to show that the FBI and the Department of Justice improperly surveilled the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, has been a hot topic of contention between Democrats and Republicans. House Republicans voted to release the document on Monday, pending President Donald Trump's approval.</p><p>The FBI said in its statement that it had been provided a "limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it."</p><p>The statement continued, "As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."</p><p>The statement builds on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-doj-oppose-releasing-classified-memo-trump-hints-he-supports-it-2018-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier reports</a> that said top officials at the DOJ and the FBI have expressed concerns about the document's claims. Both FBI director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are opposed to releasing the memo, according to multiple media reports earlier this week.</p><p>Trump and his Republican allies in Congress and the media have been pushing hard for the memo's release, claiming it shows clear proof that the nation's top law enforcement agencies are politically biased against Trump.</p><p>Democrats, meanwhile, have warned against releasing the classified memo, saying that it contains several inaccuracies that paint a one-sided picture meant to distract from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.</p><p>Nunes began investigating the Justice Department and FBI after he traveled to the White House in March without telling his committee colleagues. There, he viewed classified information that he said showed surveillance abuses by Obama administration officials.</p><p>Nunes would neither confirm nor deny at the time that he got the information from the White House. He told Bloomberg later that the information had come from a "network of whistleblowers."</p><p>Nunes briefed Trump on the intelligence, which Nunes said showed that the president and his advisers may have had their communications "incidentally collected" - and their identities "unmasked" in intelligence reports - by the intelligence community after the election.</p><p>The Daily Beast <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/devin-nunes-wont-say-if-he-worked-with-white-house-on-anti-fbi-memo?ref=author" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Tuesday that Nunes also refused to say whether he worked with the White House on his memo. When Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley asked Nunes whether he had been in contact with the White House while authoring it, Nunes reportedly deflected the question several times before saying, "I'm not answering."</p><h2>Trump to decide whether to release the memo</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a71a8217e7a35b6368b48a8-2000/rts1luj0.jpg" alt="Trump SOTU" data-mce-source="Reuters/Win McNamee/Pool" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Win McNamee/Pool</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Trump has three more days to decide whether to make the memo public.</p><p>In response to Rep. Jeff Duncan's plea to release the document after Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Trump replied, "Oh yeah, don't worry, 100%."</p><p>On Wednesday morning, chief of staff John Kelly hinted that Trump would follow through on his promise. "[The memo] will be released here pretty quick I think and the whole world can see it," Kelly <a href="https://radio.foxnews.com/2018/01/31/white-house-chief-of-staff-john-kelly-on-the-nunes-memo-it-will-be-released-pretty-quick-the-whole-world-can-see-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said during an interview</a> on Fox <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">News</keyword> Radio.</p><p>Referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the FBI said in its statement that it "takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI. We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process."</p><p>An intelligence source with knowledge of the memo told Business Insider on Wednesday that the document contained a host of inaccuracies and, if released, could negatively impact the bureau's work.</p><p>"The only thing [releasing the memo] does is stoke the partisan bickering on Capitol Hill and the White House," they said, adding that "anyone who's in this field can tell that the information in this memo shouldn't be taken seriously," and would harm the FBI's ability to do its job.</p><p>"This is just a debacle," said Rick Smith, a former counterintelligence agent who spent 25 years at the bureau. "I can see why [the FBI] wouldn't want it released, because you've got sources telling you stuff that's probably not true."</p><p>He warned that releasing it could set a "bad precedent," adding that "the FBI is in a bind here, no matter what they do."</p><p>"If they release the memo, it's going to further conspiracy theories about this, and if they don't, it'll do the same thing anyway."</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yanis-varoufakis-says-britain-cant-win-brexit-negotiations-2018-1">It's impossible for the UK to win Brexit negotiations - so this is what Theresa May should do, according to Yanis Varoufakis</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/RwNrX9y4-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

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