Wednesday, January 31, 2018

HOUSE Intel releases transcript from meeting on secret memo — live updates

House Intel releases transcript from meeting on secret memo — live updates
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House Intel releases transcript from meeting on secret memo — live updates
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House Intel releases transcript from meeting on secret memo — live updates

CIA Director John Brennan talks about recent terror and intelligence threats; Rep. Devin Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee; Fran Townsend; Steven Brill Gayle King with host John Dickerson on "Face the Nation". Photo: Chris Usher/CBS © 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved.
Chris Usher, Chris Usher/ CBS NEWS
Last Updated Jan 31, 2018 4:35 PM EST
The House Intelligence Committee has released a 51-page, unclassified transcript of the Monday night meeting that led to the vote to release the controversial, classified memo created by GOP staffers, alleging surveillance abuses by the Justice Department and the FBI.
The memo itself has not yet been released.
The release of the memo is opposed by the FBI. Earlier Wednesday, the FBI issued a rare statement warning against the memo's release, saying incompletely information in the memo raised "grave concerns." FBI Director Christopher Wray also objected to the memo's release, and, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, asked White House chief of staff John Kelly not to allow its release. The memo details allegations that the DOJ and FBI abused authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) around the time of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines Monday night to release it, allowing the White House five days to object to its release. But Kelly had indicated Wednesday morning in an interview with Fox News Radio that the memo would be released, and President Trump, after his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, said he agreed "100 percent" that the memo should be released. According to the transcript, committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, said the full House would vote to release the memo if for some reason the president declined.
At the same meeting, the committee voted — also along party lines — not to release a rebuttal memo crafted by Democrats on the committee.
"Today's release of the transcript of Monday's committee meeting leaves no doubt about what transpired: Over strong minority objections, the committee's majority took the extraordinary step on Monday of moving forward with public release of their flawed and misleading classified talking points – even though almost no committee members or staff had read the underlying material," Rep. Adam Schiff, the committee's ranking Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday. "In fact, the majority specifically voted down a more prudent alternative I put forward – to postpone publication of the majority's talking points, in order to at least allow the FBI and the DOJ a meaningful opportunity to inform members about the real risks to intelligence and law enforcement of that approach."
Democrats have expressed concern that Republicans are using the memo to undermine the credibility of the FBI and DOJ as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian election meddling and any ties to Russia. Meanwhile, Republicans have insisted the memo has nothing to do with Mueller's probe.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CBS News' Olivia Andrzejczak Gazis contributed to this report. 

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