DOCUMENT DUMP SEEN AS ATTACK ON RUSSIA PROBE

President Donald Trump has opened a new front in his efforts to discredit the origins of the Russia probe, with the White House saying he will declassify a trove of documents and release text messages of former FBI officials after calls to do so from allies in Congress.

The announcement came as part of Trump’s continued efforts to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe in the wake of the guilty plea of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and amid the grand jury investigation into longtime associate Roger Stone.

The White House on Monday announced that Trump would declassify a portion of a secret surveillance warrant application and also direct the Justice Department to release text messages and documents involving several top Justice and FBI officials, including former FBI director James Comey.