Democratic lawmakers’ rebuttal memo to their Republican counterparts includes references to “sources and methods” that need to be redacted, Fox News reports.
Sources tell @foxnews that the @AdamSchiffCA memo contains information pertaining to “sources and methods” that will likely require redaction. One source says this was done tactically to force the @realDonaldTrump into making changes – setting up a contrast with GOP memo
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) February 6, 2018
Lawmakers of the House intelligence committee voted to declassify the Democratic memo late Monday, giving President Donald Trump five days to conduct a national security review of the document. This national security review will include a review of sources and methods which officials say must be withheld from the public for intelligence concerns.
The memo was compiled in response to its Republican counterpart who released a memo that alleges broad abuse of FISA authority by top officials in the Department of Justice and the FBI. Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff, who played a key role in compiling the document, said he fears “political redactions” from the White House during the intelligence review.
Fox News, however, reports that information was specifically put into the document in order to force the White House’s hand and play into a narrative of obfuscation.
The Republican memo — compiled by House Intel chairman Devin Nunes and other Republicans on the committee — found that the FBI and the Department of Justice did not disclose the political origins of the Steele dossier in its FISA application on Trump campaign associate Carter Page and revealed previously undisclosed testimony from former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe that an investigation into Page would not have occurred without the dossier.
Democrats complained that releasing the Republican memo would damage national security by revealing FBI sources and methods, though it did no such thing.