President: Russia files will show FBI did ‘bad things’

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

The Justice Department says it’s begun complying with the order, though it’s not clear when the documents might be released.

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. Democrats say the material is too secret for disclosure and object to any meddling in an ongoing investigation.

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

Trump on Tuesday tweeted about a supportive congressman and said, “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.”

In this case, the materials may shed new insight into why federal agents suspected the aide, Carter Page, of being the agent of a foreign power. But it may also identify specific sources of information for the FBI or disclose previously classified information about Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

Experts say the president’s authority to unilaterally declassify the records is well-established.