Trump's block of a memo is a block of checks and balances
WENY-TV · 19 hours ago
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Trump's memo move raises concerns over Russia probe - CNNPolitics
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/10/politics/donald-trump-democrats-fbi.../index.html
18 hours ago - The immediate result of President Donald Trump's decision to block the release of a Democratic memo on the Russia investigation is to expose him to charges of hypocrisy.
Trump's block of a memo is a block of checks and balances - CNN ...
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Trump's block of a memo is a block of checks and balances.
CNN (CNN) The immediate result of President Donald Trump's decision to
block the release of a Democratic memo on the Russia investigation is to
expose him to charges of hypocrisy. But the deeper question -- one that
has huge implications for ...Trump's block of a memo is a block of checks and balances
(CNN)The immediate result of President Donald Trump's decision to block the release of a Democratic memo on the Russia investigation is to expose him to charges of hypocrisy.
But
the deeper question -- one that has huge implications for the fate of
special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation -- is whether Trump is
using his power to thwart any attempt by Congress to hold him
accountable.
Trump on
Friday declined to release the Democratic rebuttal of a Republican memo
he inaccurately claimed "totally vindicates" him in the Russia probe,
warning that the new document compromised intelligence sources and
methods. The move intensified extreme partisanship surrounding the
Russia investigation that is sparking suggestions that Trump is
coordinating with Republicans to discredit Mueller's work.
Trump's
decision drew Democratic outrage since the President upheld objections
of the FBI and Justice Department over publishing the Democratic memo,
but last week ignored the bureau's calls for him not to declassify the
GOP memo that was politically advantageous to him.
The
dueling memos relate to claims by Republicans that the FBI abused its
powers in obtaining a warrant for the surveillance of Trump campaign
foreign policy aide Carter Page in the secret FISA court process.
One
interpretation of events is that Trump, in a flagrant move, used his
authority to declassify selective intelligence that could undercut the
Russia probe, then used it again to keep secret information that does
the reverse.
Democrats warn this
does not just amount to a double standard, but also reflects a pattern
of attempts by the President to frustrate the investigation because he
has something to hide.
"This is
hypocrisy at its worst," said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, calling
the GOP memo, coordinated by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin
Nunes "misleading."
"If
the president really believes the Nunes memo vindicates him, as he has
said, what is he hiding by blocking the (Democratic) memo?" Feinstein
said in a statement.
Trump: It's Democrats who are playing politics
Trump,
after overriding the FBI's rare public remonstration that the GOP memo
contained "material omissions of fact," is now posing as a sober
guardian of classified information. In retrospect, it looks as though
the White House prepared the ground for his decision by saying all week
that he was of a mind to release the memo -- dampening expectations that
his motivations were political. So far, the FBI has not publicly
objected to the release of the Democratic memo, though Director
Christopher Wray signed a letter to White House counsel Donald McGahn
saying that portions of the document could harm national security if
disclosed.
Trump tweeted Saturday that
the Democrats deliberately sent a "very political and long response
memo" which they knew would have to be heavily redacted, so they could
blame the White House for lack of transparency.
"Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!" he wrote.
The
President's gambit is possible because the public has yet to see the
details in the Democratic memo and so cannot judge his motives. But were
it possible to elevate the argument out of the political storm, his
argument could also have the merit of being partly true.
It does appear that the Democratic memo contains details that could be reasonably said to endanger national security.
In
a House hearing this week, Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd, a former
CIA officer, suggested changes to the document, including omissions of a
country location of a cited source and details of FBI capabilities,
that could overcome objections to its release. His comments raise the
issue of why the FBI and the committee could not take those steps during
the five days the memo was with the President.
A devaluing effect on Dems' memo?
Yet
Trump is not going to get the benefit of the doubt because of his
record of fogging the narrative about the Russia investigation.
Moreover, critics say, he has repeatedly abused his powers to try to
kill the probe, including by firing FBI Director James Comey and by
heaping pressure on the FBI and Justice Department.
There
are also suspicions the White House is working with Nunes to politicize
the committee's oversight of the investigation into whether the Trump
campaign colluded with a Russian effort to interfere in the 2016
election or whether the President obstructed justice.
Trump's
delaying move could have the effect of devaluing the impact of the
Democratic memo, even if a redacted version is eventually released.
By
then, the whirlwind news cycle will have rolled on and the Republican
version of the Page episode will have been touted by pro-Trump media for
days, solidifying conservative opinion.
The
controversy also illustrates the relative impotence of Democrats trying
to hold Trump's feet to the fire. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the
top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wants to show the
Nunes memo is misleading, but also has to walk a fine line by not
disclosing intelligence and more about the FISA process - a tightrope
walk the White House can exploit.
The
week's events will fan fears that should Mueller produce findings that
allege wrongdoing by the President or his campaign, his Republican
allies on Capitol Hill will be reluctant to act.
Given
that the GOP controls the House, where any impeachment proceedings
would start, that raises questions about the integrity of the political
system itself, and the assumption that a sitting President can be held
to account under the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.
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