Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) said Monday that he could not comment on a Republican-written classified memo alleging Department of Justice surveillance abuses before calling it “very misleading spin.”
The memo, penned by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.), is four pages long and, according to reports, accuses the FBI and the Justice Department of misusing their authority to surveil former Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the committee, told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that the memo is flawed and designed to attack the FBI and the Justice Department.
“While I can’t comment yet on what’s in the GOP memo, it is a very misleading spin designed to attack the FBI and the Department of Justice,” Schiff said. “It has a lot of flaws in it. The fact they wouldn’t allow the FBI to come to our committee to tell us the problems with it, and they wouldn’t allow the House to be briefed in a closed session tells you all you need to know about whether they’re interested in the underlying information, which the chairman himself hadn’t even read.”
“Sadly, we expect that the president of the United States will not put the national interest over his own personal interest,” Schiff said. “But it is a sad day indeed when that is also true of our own committee.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SCHIFF LAST NIGHT:
Democrat Adam Schiff looked like he was going to pass out when he announced that the House Intel Committee decided to release the “FISA abuse” memo. The majority Republicans were able to approve the release and then vote to NOT release the Democrat version. Schiff is seething during the announcement:
JUST IN: Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, announces vote to release controversial Russia memo. pic.twitter.com/GLKP9JedAp
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 29, 2018
Donald Trump Jr. saw the panic in Schiff’s face too:
Schiff sounds like he’s panicking. One memo that has been available to all congress to read for a week will be made public but he wants to release his without showing anyone. Same old nonsense from him. I think I’ll win my bet that he leaks his. That seems to be his thing. https://t.co/TelyYEMyw2
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 29, 2018
This comes after Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was removed today from his position at the FBI.