Days ago, the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines to release a classified memo critical of the FBI, hoping to sow distrust in the agency as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal progresses.
Trump, for his part, has been outspoken in his desire to have the memo released. Many believe that, should there be any shred of what could pass as “evidence” of bias within the FBI, it would be grounds for him to fire special counsel Robert Mueller– or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who could be replaced by someone who would terminate Mueller.
This morning, Trump tweeted that, indeed, he believes the phony memo “vindicates” his position.
This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2018
Trump’s tweet is his first public indication that he will take seriously the widely-condemned memo. Despite the fact that members of both parties have said that the memo does not discredit the Mueller probe and the FBI released a statement claiming that the memo omits pertinent information, the President is intent on cherry-picking whatever misleading information he has at his disposal to promote his misguided agenda.
The tweet comes on the heels of last night’s stunning development, in which the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee (D-CA), Adam Schiff, revealed that Devin Nunes, the chairman of the same committee, made material changes to the infamous memo he sent to the White House that were not approved by the Committee.
BREAKING: Discovered late tonight that Chairman Nunes made material changes to the memo he sent to White House – changes not approved by the Committee. White House therefore reviewing a document the Committee has not approved for release. pic.twitter.com/llhQK9L7l6
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 1, 2018
If Nunes did indeed make these changes, he would be breaking committee protocol.
Nunes has been at the center of the fight to release the misleading Republican-drafted memo, which intentionally paints the FBI in a bad light to undermine the American peoples’ trust in the agency as its investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal continues to home in on Trump.
By attempting to politicize the FBI, Nunes is effectively doing Russia’s bidding. The Kremlin, of course, launched a massive misinformation campaign leading up to the 2016 election in favor of Trump. Despite the fact that Americans are growing more and more aware of Russia’s meddling – especially on Twitter and Facebook – Nunes’ blind devotion to the Kremlin’s agenda is especially disturbing.
If Trump does indeed use this tenuous memo as grounds to interfere in Mueller’s probe, it would be a death knell for his presidency– especially with midterms around the corner.
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