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Friday, February 9, 2018

Trump Blocks Release of Memo Rebutting Republican Claims

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While many Republicans said their memo showed evidence of political bias present in the early stages of the Russia investigation, Mr. Trump went farther, claiming, incorrectly, that the Republican memo “totally vindicates” him from the investigation.

Since the intelligence committee voted on Monday to release the Democratic document, as well, Democrats have worried that Mr. Trump might try to black out portions of its contents for political reasons or block the document altogether.

It was not immediately clear what recourse they might seek. The Democrats, led by Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, would need the support of Republicans, who control the committee, to force a House vote on the matter. Republicans eventually voted in favor of releasing the document, but their support for overriding the president to make public a document meant to undercut their own is another matter.

Democrats say their 10-page memo corrects key mischaracterizations and crucial omissions in the Republican case. Republicans’ three-and-a-half-page memo focused on the F.B.I.’s use of material from a former British spy, Christopher Steele, to obtain a warrant to spy on Carter Page, the former Trump campaign official. Mr. Steele was researching possible connections between Russia and Trump associates, but the memo says that the F.B.I. did not disclose to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that he was being paid by the Democratic National Committee and lawyers for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

But people familiar with the Democratic memo said it argues that the F.B.I. was more forthcoming with the surveillance court than Republicans had claimed. It says that while the F.B.I. did not name the Democratic National Committee or Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, the bureau did disclose to the court that the information it had received from Mr. Steele was politically motivated.

Representative Devin Nunes of California, who spearheaded the Republican memo as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has since conceded that the political nature of the material was included in a footnote — a fact confirmed in a letter released this week by two senior Republican senators — but said the disclosure still fell short.

Democrats also say Republicans misrepresented the words of Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy director of the F.B.I., when they said he told the committee late last year that the agency would not have sought a wiretap of Mr. Page without Mr. Steele’s dossier of information.

The F.B.I. suspected that Mr. Page, a former Moscow-based investment banker who was under investigation before, was acting as a Russian agent.

The surveillance warrant application itself remains under tight seal. The New York Times has filed a motion asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to unseal all materials related to the wiretap. There is no precedent for releasing such documents publicly.

Democrats had sought to release their memo at the same time as Republicans, but lawmakers in the committee’s majority objected. They argued that the Democratic document first had to be shared with all members of the House of Representatives and evaluated to ensure it did not compromise national security.

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