House Republicans have said the information in a secret memo on surveillance is so shocking that it must be released to the public.
Members of the lower chamber of Congress were allowed to see a memo from the House intelligence committee on Thursday, with some voicing outrage about what they saw in a restricted room at the Capitol.
“I viewed the classified report from House Intel relating to the FBI, FISA abuses, the infamous Russian dossier, and so-called ‘Russian collusion.’ What I saw is absolutely shocking. This report needs to be released–now. Americans deserve the truth. #ReleaseTheMemo,” Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina said Thursday night.
He was joined by other lawmakers who saw the memo after a vote in the intelligence committee opened it up to all members of the House, a process that could be repeated to share it with the public.
Beyond Republican lines of inquiry in the Russia investigation, a measure cementing the powers of the intelligence apparatus through FISA has just passed through Congress, with the Senate approving the measure late Thursday.
“If this memo had been known prior to the vote, FISA reauth would have failed. These abuses must be made public, and @realDonaldTrump should send the bill back with a veto,” NSA leaker Edward Snowden said in a tweet Friday morning.
The Act has become the subject of scrutiny in the Republican-dominated House’s version of the Russia investigation, tasked with looking into events surrounding alleged election meddling by Moscow.
Rep. Devin Nunes, (R-Calif.) said in the spring he stepped away from the House intelligence committee’s main investigation after allegations of coordination with the White House, but has led his own probe into the “unmasking” of Trump campaign officials by the Obama administration in intelligence reports.
Former national security adviser Susan Rice reportedly told the House group she did the “unmasking,” or revealing of Americans’ identity in reports on foreigners, because of suspicions around an unexplained visit from the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates.
Trump adviser Carter Page and campaign chair Paul Manafort were also both reportedly subject to surveillance warrants under FISA.
Manafort currently faces money laundering charges, as Flynn and Trump foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos both pleaded guilty to lying to investigators.
Republicans have focused their questions on the “dossier,” compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, which contained unverified information about President Trump being susceptible to blackmail by Russian intelligence.
Some GOP members have tried to paint the dossier, paid for as part of an investigation by anti-Trump Republicans and then Democrats, as the source for the entire Russia investigation and the basis for the warrants against Steele and Manafort.
However, a report from the New York Times and testimony from the founder of Fusion GPS, which commissioned the document, have said American intelligence was already investigating meddling before they knew of its existence.
Papadopoulos, who admitted he lied about his contacts with Russian-linked individuals, reportedly told an Australian diplomat last year that he had been told about Russians dirt on Hillary Clinton.
