President Donald Trump told Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he will declassify FBI- and FISA-related documents, now that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has concluded.
“I have plans to declassify and release. I have plans to absolutely release,” Trump said, adding that he wanted to declassify documents in 2018 but was told by his lawyers not to do it during the Mueller investigation.
“One of the reasons that my lawyers didn’t want me to do it, they said if I do it, they will call it a form of obstruction, so they will say, oh, you released these documents so we would make all of this information transparent,” Trump said of his lawyers advice, declaring, “But at the right time, we will be absolutely releasing it. I did the right thing by not doing it so far.”
Trump originally was set to declassify multiple documents related to the FBI investigation of his presidential campaign in 2016. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a September 2018 statement that the documents include “the following materials: 1. pages 10–12 and 17–34 of the June 2017 application to the FISA court in the matter of Carter W. Page; 2. all FBI reports of interviews with Bruce G. Ohr prepared in connection with the Russia investigation; and 3. all FBI reports of interviews prepared in connection with all Carter Page FISA applications.” (RELATED: Trump Orders Declassification Of Russia Probe Documents)
Trump then reversed course under advice of his attorneys and other U.S. officials, saying:
I met with the DOJ concerning the declassification of various UNREDACTED documents. They agreed to release them but stated that so doing may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe. Also, key Allies’ called to ask not to release. Therefore, the Inspector General…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
….has been asked to review these documents on an expedited basis. I believe he will move quickly on this (and hopefully other things which he is looking at). In the end I can always declassify if it proves necessary. Speed is very important to me – and everyone!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018