Trump just escalated the “memo” wars with a taunting tweet to Democrats

President Trump responded to Democratic charges that his refusal to declassify the memo written by the Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee — led by ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) — is a completely partisan, butt-covering move after he let the Republican memo from the same committee — spearheaded by Rep. Devin Nunes — sail though without redactions. Of course, he did it through a tweet.

The Democratic memo which Trump describes as “long,” presumably meaning that he didn’t actually read it, responds to and corrects the inaccuracies, out of context information, and misleading conclusions of the Republican memo which Trump claims “vindicates” him in the Russia investigation.

Even his ardent supporters in the Republican party find that claim to be erroneous at best, with House Intelligence Committee member Trey Gowdy tweeting that the Nunes memo has nothing to do with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The fact is that Trump never intended to let the Democrats show that the Nunes memo is a fraud, although its public reception indicates that the majority of the populace has already discredited it.

Despite Trump’s calls for more redactions from the Democratic response memo, Rep. Schiff pointed out in a statement on Friday night that the FBI and Justice Department had already vetted their memo, which was based on the same documents that the Republican memo cited, prior to the Intelligence Committee unanimously voting for its disclosure.

“We will be reviewing the recommended redactions from D.O.J. and F.B.I., which these agencies shared with the White House,” Rep. Schiff said, “and look forward to conferring with the agencies to determine how we can properly inform the American people about the misleading attack on law enforcement by the G.O.P. and address any concerns over sources and methods.”

Stay tuned for more updates on the situation as the Intelligence Committee can vote to override the President’s decision by referring the matter to the full House for a vote. It will be interesting to see if Republicans will be brave enough to stand up

Vinnie Longobardo

is the Managing Editor of Washington Press and a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile, & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.