Trump: ‘Bad things’ in files

President Trump says declassifying documents in the Russia probe will show “bad things” related to the FBI.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is flexing his executive power to declassify secret documents in the Russia investigation, a move he says will ensure that “really bad things” at the FBI are exposed.

But the decision, made against the backdrop of Trump’s spiraling outrage at the special counsel’s Russia investigation, may expose sensitive sources and methods and brush up against privacy law protections, experts say.

The order is likely to further divide the president from the intelligence agencies he oversees and raises new concerns that Trump is disclosing government secrets for his own political gain.

Critics say the president has a conflict by trying to discredit an investigation in which he is a subject.

“This radical policy choice is not being made on traditional policy grounds. It’s being made on conflicted grounds,” said David Kris, a former Justice Department national security division head. “That’s problematic.”

The Justice Department says it’s begun complying with the order, though it’s not clear when the documents might be released. It’s also unclear if the multiagency review now underway might find ways to try to withhold certain information or limit whatever damage that may arise from the release.

Trump and Republican supporters want the records out in hopes they’ll reveal law enforcement bias in the early stage of the Russia investigation and prove the probe was opened without good reason.

But Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, has said Justice Department and FBI officials viewed releasing that material as a “red line,” making clear the stakes of Trump’s demands.

The documents the president ordered declassified include a portion of a secret surveillance application for a former Trump campaign adviser.

Trump appeared unconcerned Tuesday by the national security implications of the order, tweeting about a supportive congressman and saying, “Really bad things were happening, but they are now being exposed. Big stuff!” At the White House he said he wants “total transparency,” insisting again that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt.”