Memo-Gate: Trump’s Henchmen Undermine governmental oversight

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Rep. Karen Bass

[Commentary]

Despite repeated warnings from the intelligence community, the Department of Justice and the FBI of ‘material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy’, the President and House Republicans today released a noncomprehensive memo (one that they may have drafted together) about the federal surveillance of Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The idea that Carter Page was surveilled because of the Steele Dossier ignores many basic facts of this investigation, such as the fact that the FBI first contacted Carter Page in 2013, well before the Steele Dossier was even a thought in anyone’s head and that if the warrant to surveil was extended three times, that means there was useful information presented in court to do so. The memo’s additional omissions about how the investigation began and what other information the FBI had about Russia’s efforts to interfere with our election pile on to discredit this memo as a disingenuous attempt at providing the American people transparency.

This egregious and unprecedented action carried out by the President’s henchmen to ultimately cast doubt on Robert Mueller’s investigation could set the stage for the worst abuse of governmental oversight in this country’s history.

Somewhere Putin is laughing at us as Speaker Ryan and Devin Nunes receive a slap on the back and a “job well done” from President Trump in the Oval Office.

 

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