Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday called for transparency despite national security concerns over the release of a classified memo purportedly detailing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses.
The senior adviser to President Trump called for the memo’s release in an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” adding that concerns about national security brought forth by Trump-appointed Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd don’t outweigh the importance of information within the memo. {mosads}
“I think there are concerns all the way around, and that is one person’s opinion,” Conway told CNN. “At the same time, we’ve been very concerned to see a year-plus spent on innuendos and insinuations and this lack of any connection of Russian collusion.”
“This is all brand new,” Conway continued. “As you know, the president has five days. Obviously, legal counsel needs to review [the memo], and others. And we take it all very seriously. But for those who have been saying for a year-plus, ‘transparency, accountability,’ as you say, ‘go after it, investigate it.’ I hope the same applies to this memo.”
Trump broke with his own Justice Department over the weekend and called for the release of the memo, which was created by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee and which allegedly details government surveillance abuses.
Republicans who have seen the information it details have called the memo “shocking,” while Democrats have dismissed it as a distraction.
On Monday, the committee voted to release the memo to the public despite concerns from both the Justice Department and some lawmakers that the information could be damaging to national security if made public. The document will be reviewed by the White House before its release later this week.
“We’ve taken the position that this is a serious issue that needs to be disclosed to the public,” Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) told reporters on Monday after the vote.