President Donald Trump’s feud with the US Justice Department is coming to a head with FBI memo release
An extraordinary statement from the law enforcement agency pits it against a commander in chief who has already shown no qualms in firing top officials, and event wants to remove the attorney general
The long-simmering feud between President Donald Trump and the Justice Department looks to erupt into open conflict with the FBI publicly challenging the president’s expected release of a contentious and classified memo related to the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
In a rare unsigned statement, the FBI cited “grave concerns” with inaccuracies and omissions in the four-page memo, which was written by House Republicans and alleges abuses at the Justice Department connected to secret surveillance orders. Trump has told advisers that the memo could benefit him by undercutting the special counsel’s investigation and allow him to oust senior Justice Department officials – and that he wants it released soon, something that could happen as early as Thursday.
“We have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,” the FBI said.
Wednesday’s extraordinary statement pits the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency against a commander in chief who already has fired one FBI director and has repeatedly expressed a desire to remove the attorney general and others connected to the Russia investigation. That probe, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, is aimed in part at determining whether any Trump associates coordinated with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, and investigating any related issues.
