Rep. Adam Schiff said Friday that President Trump is choosing his own political interests over the advice of his national security team regarding a memo concerning alleged abuses in the justice system.
“The fact that the president of the United States will blithely disregard the admonitions of both his own FBI director and the Department of Justice, tells you all you need to know about where the president’s priorities are. And it’s not protecting classified information,” Mr. Schiff, California Democrat, said on CBS News.
He added that Mr. Trump has decided to select what information he wants to release in order to discredit the FBI and Department of Justice. The memo, written by Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican who chairs the House intelligence committee, alleges abusive practices within the justice system in order to obtain warrants on Trump campaign aides.
The committee voted to release the document on Monday, but Mr. Trump has the final word on whether it will be released. He has until Monday to make a decision.
“It’s clear from the president that this is exactly the purpose behind this cherry-picking of information that Nunes wants to release. This is designed to impugn the credibility of the FBI, to undermine the investigation,” Mr. Schiff said.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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