If President Donald Trump is engaged in a “cover-up,” as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic Party cohorts claim, he has a funny way of going about it because the president took measures Thursday to ensure the release more information.
Trump has granted Attorney General William Barr “full and complete authority to declassify information” related to the beginnings of the federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
And you wonder why Democrats are flailing about this week with so much vigor?
The goal of the decision is to “ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred,” and “restore confidence in our public institutions,” according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election,” Sanders said in a statement.
Statement on Presidential Memorandum signed tonight pic.twitter.com/wHx6l2lL5c
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) May 24, 2019
“The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information,” the release continued. “Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.”
The president also ordered the intelligence community to cooperate with Barr, who is the tip of the spear in Trump’s pledge to “investigate the investigators.”
“The heads of elements of the intelligence community… and the heads of each department or agency that includes an element of the intelligence community shall promptly provide such assistance and information as the Attorney General may request in connection with that review,” the president said in Thursday’s memo.
The full text can be seen below in a tweet from Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York.
Full text of president's order on declassifying Trump-Russia investigation material: pic.twitter.com/espnXCSs2y
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 24, 2019
Close up of memo below:
In an almost comical response, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, bemoaned the release of more information while charging that President Trump “stonewalls the public from learning the truth.”
Schiff posted: “While Trump stonewalls the public from learning the truth about his obstruction of justice, Trump and Barr conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies. The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase. This is un-American.”
While Trump stonewalls the public from learning the truth about his obstruction of justice,
Trump and Barr conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies.
The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase.
This is un-American.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 24, 2019
The president said earlier this month that he would “soon” allow declassification.
“I didn’t want to do it originally because I wanted to wait, because I know what they — you know I’ve seen the way they play. They play very dirty,” he told Fox News.
Trump has insisted that his campaign was the victim of “spying,” and Barr testified on Capitol Hill that he believed “spying did occur.”
At the center of it all are the FISA warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page and the FBI’s use of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s salacious dossier containing unverified claims about Trump — a dossier funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team, defended the “wide decision” to give Barr the authority to declassify information in one tweet Thursday night.
In another tweet, he named former FBI director James Comey, former CIA director John Brennan and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, and brought up the Obama White House, which continues to get a full pass by the media, despite the “spying” on Trump’s campaign happening under President Obama’s watch.
“Get ready for the declassified documents. It may require the media to cover #SPYGATE. Was it a frame-up? Comey seems to have perjured himself by signing an affidavit described as verified. Did Brennan and Clapper know it was a false charge? Did the Obama WH and DOJ know?” Giuliani tweeted.
Get ready for the declassified documents. It may require the media to cover #SPYGATE. Was it a frame-up? Comey seems to have perjured himself by signing an affidavit described as verified. Did Brennan and Clapper know it was a false charge? Did the Obama WH and DOJ know?
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) May 24, 2019
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chair of the House Freedom Caucus, praised Trump’s move, saying America is about to learn the real “truth” about what went on.
“Outstanding—President Trump authorizing the Attorney General to declassify documents related to surveillance during the 2016 election. Americans are going to learn the truth about what occurred at their Justice Department,” Meadows tweeted, including the hashtag #ReleaseTheDocuments.
Outstanding—President Trump authorizing the Attorney General to declassify documents related to surveillance during the 2016 election. Americans are going to learn the truth about what occurred at their Justice Department.#ReleaseTheDocuments
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) May 24, 2019
As The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, a Fox News contributor, said, “OK, let’s do it. And do it quickly.”
OK, let's do it. And do it quickly. https://t.co/TOuOpE1xju
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 24, 2019
Here’s a quick feel of other responses from Twitter:
Closer and closer to the truth.https://t.co/1zhPsDuXbt
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 24, 2019
Talking to plugged-in Republicans about Trump declassification order. They see giving AG Barr authority will speed the process. Added benefit: Quick declassification could allow DOJ IG Horowitz to include more stuff in his upcoming report.
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 24, 2019
BREAKING: President Trump has authorized Attorney General Barr to declassify documents related to 2016 campaign surveillance by the FBI.
It's time for those responsible to be held accountable!
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) May 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/salado4congress/status/1131726452804804608
https://twitter.com/BuckSexton/status/1131755814144765953
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