US President Donald Trump
has defended a recent recent release of once-classified congressional
memo on FBI, saying it “totally vindicates” him in an investigation into
his presidential campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia.
The president took to Twitter on Saturday morning to once again deny any such collusion or obstruction.
"This memo totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe," he wrote. "But the
Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their (sic) was no Collusion and
there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of
looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an
American disgrace!"
On Friday, he approved the public release of a memo written by House
Intelligence Committee member Devin Nunes that alleges the FBI abused
its surveillance authority.
The release of the four-page document prompted senior Democrats to
denounce the controversial memo as an inaccurate and misleading portrait
intended to undermine the probe. They warned Trump, in a written
statement, not to use it as a "pretext" to fire special counsel Robert
Mueller or the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.
Trump reportedly ordered f Mueller the firing of Mueller in June.
Democrats, said in a statement that, the memo release is an attempt to
undermine the integrity of Mueller’s investigation, warning that such
action could trigger a constitutional crisis not seen since the 1970s,
when then President Richard Nixon gave orders to fire justice officials
involved in the Watergate scandal.
"We write to inform you that we would consider such an unwarranted
action as an attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation,"
the statement said. Former CIA director Leon Panetta (File photo)
The memo's central allegation is that the FBI and US Justice
Department had been spying on a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter
Page.
GOP memo release sends ‘terrible message’ to US allies
Former CIA director Leon Panetta also warned that Trump’s approval of
the congressional memo sends a “terrible message” to US allies to be
worry about sharing classified information with Washington.
Panetta, who was discussing the memo release with the CBS News on
Friday, described it as an "unprecedented" move, which could have
far-reaching effects on Washington’s foreign policy.
"All of this sends a terrible message to our allies who are going to
worry about sharing classified information that is so easily released as
part of this political effort," said the former CIA director.
He also called Trump’s move as “a breakdown in the fundamental trust that is important to the institutions of our democracy.”
There are currently several investigations into alleged collusion
between the Trump campaign and Russia, but Trump has consistently denied
any ties with Moscow. Analysts, however, say Trump’s attempts to hinder
the probe, including his attempts to sack Mueller, suggests that he has
something big to hide.
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