Nunes memo: What you need to know
The key players and the ramifications of the document’s release
WASHINGTON – The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a classified memo that accused the Justice Department and the FBI of abusing top-secret surveillance to spy on an adviser to President Trump’s campaign.
The memo alleges that the committee has uncovered concerns about “the legitimacy and legality” of applications in which the Justice Department sought permission to spy on a former Trump campaign aide.
What does the memo say?
The memo alleges that a “dossier” prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele “formed an essential part” of a government request to eavesdrop on Carter Page, then a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign.
The Justice Department, according to the memo, did not reveal to the court that Steele’s work was funded by the Democratic National Committee.
Can the government spy on us?
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the government to eavesdrop for national security purposes. The government must persuade a judge it has evidence the person is working as an agent of a foreign power, is working on behalf of a government that conducts intelligence gathering in the U.S., or is engaged in international terrorism.
Aren’t these normally secret?
FISA surveillance orders are classified and have long been among the government’s most carefully guarded national security secrets. This is one reason the memo’s release is so extraordinary.
Is there evidence of wrongdoing?
Not necessarily. Neither FISA nor federal courts have set hard rules about how much information the government must provide about its sources.
Federal courts have said for decades that the Fourth Amendment prohibits the government from leaving out “material” information when it applies for search warrants and wiretaps, and the same standard would apply to FISA.
OK, so is this memo a big deal?
In Washington, it’s becoming one. Hours before the release on Friday, Trump accused the top leadership and investigators at the FBI and Justice Department of politicizing the “sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans.”
Yet the top Democrat on the House Intelligence panel, Adam Schiff of California, has described the Republican memo as “a profoundly misleading set of talking points” that is “rife with factual inaccuracies.”
What does the FBI think?
In an extraordinary statement this week, the FBI expressed “grave concerns” about “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” The Justice Department, in a letter to Nunes, said releasing the memo to the public would be “extraordinarily reckless.”
Yet Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday said the issues the memo raised were of “great importance” and that “no department is perfect.”
What’s next?
That remains to be seen. Trump declined to say whether he had confidence in Rosenstein. If Trump uses the memo as a reason to dismiss him, it would almost certainly trigger another round of political tumult.
What role did FISA play in Mueller’s investigation?
Nunes’ memo gave no indication of how significant a role the FISA surveillance played in Mueller’s investigation. So far, prosecutors working for Mueller have brought charges against four people, but none has made any mention of Carter Page or what, if anything, investigators uncovered during the surveillance.