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President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump on Friday authorized the release of a highly-controversial memo authored by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes.
The memo, the release of which imminent after Trump moved to declassify it, purports to show the Department of Justice abusing its surveillance authority to monitor Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide.
"President Trump has approved the declassification of the document in full and it has been transmitted to the minority and majority of the House Intel Committee," said White House spokesman Raj Shah. He added that the White House did not request any redactions to the memo.
Trump, addressing the memo's release, said Friday, "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
The memo has been a source of contention between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The memo and its possible release have sparked a firestorm on Capitol Hill and within the intelligence community. Republicans say they want to release the document to promote transparency and hold law enforcement accountable, but Democrats have slammed it as a thinly veiled attempt to distract the public and discredit the agencies investigating the president and his associates.
Top intelligence and law enforcement officials have cautioned against the memo's release.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met Monday with White House chief of staff John Kelly to argue against releasing the memo, saying that the document contained several inaccuracies and that releasing it could expose sources and methods, according to The Washington Post.
When Kelly didn't budge, Wray again called him on Monday night, but was unsuccessful.
The next day, at least five FBI officials traveled to the White House to speak with Kelly about the memo, according to the report. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats also cautioned the chief of staff against releasing the document but appeared to be rebuffed as well.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it would be "extraordinarily reckless" for the House Intelligence Committee to approve the memo's release without giving the DOJ enough time to review it and advise lawmakers about possible national security implications.
The FBI also weighed in, saying in a rare statement Wednesday that it had been "provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it."
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."
Democrats have prepared their own document which rebuts many of the claims in the Nunes memo, but Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have not yet approved its release.
CBS