February 2, 2018

Trump Attacks FBI and Justice Department Ahead of Expected Memo Release

He accused officials with being biased towards Democrats.

Kyle Mazza/ZUMA

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President Donald Trump on Friday railed against the FBI and Justice Department on Twitter, accusing officials on Friday having “politicized the sacred investigative process” to favor Democrats.

The tweets appeared to lay the groundwork for the highly contentious release of a four-page, Republican-authored memo that reportedly alleges surveillance abuses by the FBI in the targeting of a former Trump campaign adviser. The memo’s release, which is expected later on Friday, would come despite stern warnings from the FBI that the memo paints a false picture by relaying misleading and cherry-picked information.

Democrats charge the White House with using the memo to discredit Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who played a role in reauthorizing the FBI’s surveillance, and ultimately discredit the special counsel’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia that he oversees. CNN reported that Trump admitted as much to his associates this week.

Trump’s attack on Friday echoed previous complaints over a baseless conspiracy theory last year, when he accused the Obama administration of having wiretapped Trump Tower during the election. House Intelligence Commitee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the same man leading the #ReleaseTheMemo campaign, then helped prop up the president’s claim. 

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

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