ACLU files open records request for Comey memo

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Wednesday with the FBI and Department of Justice in an effort to obtain a memo by fired FBI Director James Comey.

The memo, reportedly written by Comey in February, details a conversation between the former top cop and President Trump, in which Trump pushed Comey to shut down the FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The memo was kept secret by Comey and only shared with a handful of people close to the former FBI director. The New York Times was the first to report on the memo’s existence, and other news organizations have confirmed the account.

“There are serious concerns that the president may have improperly tried to obstruct an FBI investigation,” ACLU National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi said in a statement. “The public has a right to know if that’s true.”

{mosads}The Comey memo is the latest controversy facing Trump, whose White House staff has spent the past eight days scrambling to explain the circumstances surrounding Comey’s abrupt firing, as well as the revelation on Monday that Trump may have disclosed highly classified intelligence to Russian diplomats last week.

In the wake of the Times report disclosing the Comey memo, congressional investigators began calling for the FBI and Justice Department to turn over the document, as well as other notes and memos by the former director.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, suggested on Tuesday that he was open to subpoenaing the memo. He said Wednesday that he is planning to invite Comey to testify before his panel next week.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting an investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, invited the former FBI director to testify.

The committee’s chairman, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) have also requested from the FBI any notes or memos prepared by Comey regarding his communications with the Justice Department or senior White House officials about the Russia probe.