Trump, Republicans accuse FBI of bias in Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump and his Republican allies unleashed a controversial memo accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigation of bias and abuse of power on Friday, intensifying a high-stakes fight between the White House and prosecutors investigating the president’s campaign team.
Trump defied his own FBI director and the Justice Department to declassify the fourpage Republican document, which implies malfeasance and partisanship at the very top of American law enforcement.
“I think it’s a disgrace. What’s going on in this country, I think it’s a disgrace,” a visibly tense Trump said as he announced his decision to release the memo. “A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much worse than that.”
Democrats and some Republicans have cried foul over the document, dismissing its release as little more than a stunt, and another thinly veiled effort to undermine the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia.
They claim the document – drafted by Devin Nunes, a Trump transition official, Congressman and House Intelligence Committee chairman – has glaring holes. The FBI itself said it had “grave concerns” over its accuracy.
The memo claims that Democrat-funded research prompted the FBI to spy on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.
In a subsequent statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the document “raises serious concerns about the integrity of decisions made at the highest levels of the Department of Justice and the FBI.”
Trump’s son Donald Jr. tweeted that it should be “game over” for the Russia investigation.
Trump’s one-year-old presidency has been dominated by allegations that multiple aides, including Donald Jr. and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, may have coordinated with the Kremlin to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.