Q&A: How a secret GOP memo became a bitter point of conflict

WASHINGTON — In the two weeks since the #Releasethememo hashtag first sprouted on Twitter, a secret congressional report on the Russia investigation has gone from an obscure, classified document to a bitter point of conflict between not only Democrats and Republicans but also the White House and the FBI. But Republicans involved in producing it say it will show surveillance run amok, and the White House — perhaps sensing an opportunity to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation — has endorsed the release over the fierce objections of Justice Department and FBI leaders. Then, in a highly unusual and unsigned public statement, the FBI said it had had only a limited opportunity to review the report and came away with “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” The FBI also countered Nunes’ allegations of abuse by saying it takes “seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI.” Part of the problem for the FBI, though, will be its difficulty in publicly correcting falsehoods it identifies in the Republican report. The president and his supporters have been looking for ways to discredit Mueller’s investigation, which Trump has called a “witch hunt.” Raising allegations of surveillance abuse — even though vigorously denied by the FBI, and even though the assertions almost certainly relate to events well before Mueller was appointed — may provide an avenue for him to do so. One White House official said the memo would be in “Congress’ hands” after Trump declassified it and that there were unlikely to be any redactions.