Republican lawmakers are calling on congressional leaders to release a memo written by the House Intelligence Committee about alleged abuses about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The committee voted along party lines on Thursday to allow members of the House to read it.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called the memo, “worse than Watergate.” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) took to the House floor and called for the memo’s release. “I am shocked to read exactly what has taken place. I would think that it would never happen in a country that loves freedom and democracy like this country…I am calling on our leadership to make this available so that all Americans can judge for themselves,” Meadows said.
I viewed the classified report from House Intel relating to the FBI, FISA abuses, the infamous Russian dossier, and so-called "Russian collusion." What I saw is absolutely shocking.
This report needs to be released–now. Americans deserve the truth. #ReleaseTheMemo pic.twitter.com/oP2UNujKQL
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) January 19, 2018
Fox News host Sean Hannity reported Thursday night that memo details text messages between two FBI agents that reveal that the FBI obtained FISA warrants based on the infamous Steele Dossier, the intelligence report that says the Russian government coordinated efforts to affect the 2016 presidential election with the Trump campaign.
Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff of California called the memo misleading and inaccurate. “Rife with factual inaccuracies…this [memo] is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI. This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals,” a statement released by Schiff’s said.