The five day clock is ticking. An accurate memo covering the events surrounding Carter Page’s participation into Trump’s Russian conspiracy is waiting for Trump’s authorization to release. He has five days to decide. I look forward to reading it, but I doubt that I’ll get the chance anytime soon.
The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Monday to make public a classified Democratic memorandum rebutting Republican claims that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department had abused their powers to wiretap a former Trump campaign official, setting up a possible clash with President Trump.
The vote gives Mr. Trump five days to review the Democratic memo and determine whether he will try to block its release. A decision to stop it could lead to an ugly standoff between the president, his top law enforcement and intelligence advisers and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Trump vocally supported the release of the Republicans’ memo last week, declassifying its contents on Friday over the objections of Democrats and his own F.B.I., which issued a rare public statement to warn that it had “grave concerns” about the memo’s accuracy. On Saturday, he claimed, incorrectly, that the memo “totally vindicates” him in the continuing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The 10-page Democratic document is certain to be less flattering to his case. Democrats have said the memo corrects mischaracterizations by the Republicans and adds crucial context to actions by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department in obtaining a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order to wiretap the former Trump aide, Carter Page, in October 2016.
If Mr. Trump tries to block the Democratic memo’s release, House rules allow Democrats to seek a closed-door vote of the full House of Representatives to override the president. With some Republicans now arguing for its release, there is a possibility that the House could override the president’s decision in a rare rebuke to his authority…
Inserted from <NY Times>
Rachel Maddow explained the situation in her usual thorough way.
Here’s how I see it. I expect Trump, who considers failure to praise him treason, to either deny release, or redact so much that the memo will be unintelligible. Democrats will seek the House vote to override Trump’s decision, expecting the Republicans that voted for release and others to join them. However, I think their vote to release the Schiff memo was only a scam to appear bipartisan, because they expected Trump to block its release for them. When he does, Republicans, who voted for release, will slither into the rationale that, even though they really wanted to release the memo, they must defer to supporting their Fuhrer’s position on national security instead. I want very much to be dead wrong about this.
RESIST THE REPUBLICAN REICH!!
10 Responses to “The Schiff Memo Next?”
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Am I the only person who thinks that, with the Nunes memo having already backfired, if (when) the House committee has voted to release it and Trump will not allow it to be released, Trump will look guiltier than ever? Terminal redaction may be his only option that isn’t suicidal. I’ll be jaw-droppingly surprised if the whole House DOES vote to release it unredacted.
Nunes needs to go.
I agree with you, Tom, in that I’m thinking dt won’t release the Democratic memo. What a messysheet fest though.
Looks as though the Democratic memo has tRump caught between Scylla and Charybdis. I hope he’s sorry that he even contemplated running for POTUS – if not now, soon.
Freya! You got it! I said a long time ago, that the dumbest thing he ever did was decide to run for POTUS, as now all of his dirty laundry will be hung out to dry…in public!
Not gonna see that memo, we are!
There is no way that that memo is going to see the light of day in ANY kind of original form! dt is NOT gonna let this out in any way!!!
I agree with you, they won’t release that document. They like having T rump in office.
Perhaps “great deal-maker” Drumpf will throw in the release of the Schiff document in the ongoing negotiations to keep the government from closing down in less than two day’s. Of course he can’t suggest that himself, but will have McConnell/Ryan “promise” to do their utmost to get Drumpf release it if Democrats go along with the next stopgap bill on the table. And so on and so forth.
Thanks all. Tired hugs.
I was reading yesterday that one of the Trumpians (I can’t remember if it was Nunes or another misfit) announced that the Democrat memo will get the same treatment as the Nunes memo. If you believe that, I have a US bridge (that has been maintained) for sale!
IMO, there is not a chance that Drumpf will release the memo and I really doubt that Democrats will get the required Republican votes to override Drumpf’s veto! They are all talk until it is rubber to the road, and then they’re flat!