Republican congressmen are reportedly preparing up to five more memos calling out intelligence agency "wrongdoing" after a similar move last week dominated the headlines.
The party’s representatives on the House Intelligence committee are expected to produce new documents criticising the FBI, the Justice department and the State department of politically-motivated abuse of power.
Devin Nunes, the Republican author behind the critical memo of how the Russia investigation was handled, is preparing five more similar reports according to the political website Axios.
The controversial memo’s release on Friday claimed that the FBI relied excessively on the former British spy Christopher Steele, whose anti-Trump research was funded by Democrats, when it applied for a surveillance warrant on a former Trump campaign associate.
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Donald Trump, who defied public warnings from the FBI to approve publication of the document, used its contents to claim an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was a "witch hunt" and an "American disgrace".
This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!
Click Here: cd universidad catolica— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2018
There are signs that Republican attacks on the department looking into Russia links are working, with a poll showing more Republican voters now have a critical view of the FBI than a positive one.
An online poll found that 47 per cent of Republicans have an “unfavourable” opinion of the FBI while just 38 per cent see it favourably.
Democrats on the House intelligence committee are seeking to counter the attack by pushing for the publication of their own memo rebutting Mr Nunes’ document.
It was sent to the White House on Monday evening for Mr Trump’s approval after the committee voted unanimously to release it.
The document argues the Republican version was misleading and selective in its use of still secret intelligence.
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Amid their efforts, Mr Trump on Monday attacked the committee’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff, in a tweet, deriding him as "little" and calling him as "one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington."
Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2018
Earlier a White House official said that if the Democratic memo made it out of the committee, the administration would consider releasing it, subjecting it to a similar review process as the Republican memo.
The evidence gathering processes of the FBI and Justice department have become the focus of a fiercely partisan battle over the legitimacy of the Russian election meddling investigation being led by Robert Mueller, the special counsel.
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Republicans argue the investigation, which is looking into Trump campaign links with Russia, was politically motivated and triggered by unverified research.
But Democrats have pointed to evidence that Trump campaign figures discussed dirt on Hillary Clinton with Russian figures, meaning the inquiries are legitimate.
The new documents Republicans are expected to release are reported to detail the intelligence agencies’ interactions with two former associates of Hillary and Bill Clinton.