White House poised to approve release of explosive Republican memo
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WASHINGTON - The White House is likely to give Congress approval on Friday to make public a secret Republican memo alleging FBI bias against President Donald Trump in its Russia probe, a White House official said on Thursday, as tensions over the disputed document gripped Washington.
Trump, who had the authority to prevent its release, instead is likely to allow the four-page document to be made public with no redactions, the official said, in a move that could further heighten tensions between the Republican president and the top domestic law enforcement agency.
The document has become a flashpoint in a wider battle between Republicans and Democrats over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's criminal probe into potential collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Mueller's probe grew out of the FBI's Russia investigation after Trump fired the agency's previous director.
Democrats have painted the memo crafted by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee as misleading, based on a selective use of highly classified data and intended to discredit Mueller's work.
The FBI on Wednesday expressed "grave concerns about material omissions of fact" in the memo, whose release has the potential to prompt high-level resignations in US law enforcement agencies.
