Schumer to Trump: Refusing to release Dems’ countermemo would confirm Americans’ ‘worst fears’

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday called on President Trump to release the Democratic House Intelligence Committee memo, a classified document that is said to counter the recently released GOP memo, saying it is a matter of “fundamental fairness.”

Not releasing the memo “will confirm the American people’s worst fears” that the release of the GOP memo was motivated by partisan politics, Schumer wrote in a letter to Trump. 

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wrote his own version of a classified memo in response to the four-page document drafted by the staff of Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Nunes’s memo alleges that the Justice Department and FBI abused one of the nation’s surveillance programs.

Republicans are expressing concern that top officials made politically motivated decisions in an attempt to damage Trump’s presidential campaign.

Democrats say the memo left out key context that their memo will clarify.

“A refusal to release the Schiff memo in light of the fact that Chairman Devin Nunes’ memo was released and is based on the same underlying documents will confirm the American people’s worst fears that the release of Chairman Nunes’ memo was only intended to undermine Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation,” Schumer wrote. {mosads}

“I strongly urge you to sanction the public release of Ranking Member Adam Schiff’s memorandum that was recently made available to all members of the House of Representatives as soon as possible. I believe it is a matter of fundamental fairness that the American people be allowed to see both sides of the argument and make their own judgements,” he continued.

The White House as well as the other top GOP leaders have signaled an openness to having Schiff’s classified document released if certain sources and methods are redacted.

“If it is scrubbed to ensure it does not reveal sources and methods of our intelligence gathering, the speaker supports the release of the Democrats’ memo,” AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said in a statement on Friday.