President Trump said Friday he approved the release of a controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuses at the FBI, escalating a feud between the president and the top law enforcement agency over the origins of the Russia investigation.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump suggested the document shows political bias at the FBI that tainted the probe into whether his campaign cooperated with Russia’s election meddling.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” Trump said of the alleged bias. “A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves.”
The decision cleared the way for the House Intelligence Committee to release the memo, which it did shortly after noon.
“It was declassified and let’s see what happens,” Trump said.
White House spokesman Raj Shah said copies had been sent to Republican and Democratic members of the Intelligence panel and the office of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Shah said the White House made no redactions to the document.
Trump’s decision came over objections from the FBI and Justice Department, which said the memo contained misleading information and could compromise sensitive information.
In a rare public statement Wednesday, the FBI said it was “gravely concerned” that critical facts were missing from the document and painted an inaccurate picture of how the bureau sought approval to conduct surveillance in the probe.
Democrats have dismissed the document as a politically motivated attempt by Trump and his GOP allies in Congress to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.