Washington, DC, July 22, 2018 – Last night, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement:
“These documents affirm that our nation faced a profound counterintelligence threat prior to the 2016 election, and the Department of Justice and FBI took appropriate steps to investigate whether any U.S. persons were acting as an agent of a foreign power. FBI and DOJ would have been negligent had they not used all the tools at their disposal, including Court-authorized FISA surveillance, to protect the country.
“Even in redacted form, the initial FISA application and three renewals underscore the legitimate concern FBI had about Page’s activities as it was investigating Russia’s interference; DOJ’s transparency with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about a specific source; and that DOJ followed proper procedures in receiving approval from four different judges.
“While I’m pleased that these conspiracy theories are finally being put to rest, the release of these materials during a pending investigation should not have happened. FISA applications include matters that by their very nature implicate sources and methods of intelligence gathering, and anyone who has worked in this field knows that even discussing the existence of a FISA warrant is forbidden.
“These national security considerations were cast aside by President Trump, whose decision to declassify the Nunes Memo — which misrepresented and distorted these applications — over the fervent opposition of the Department of Justice, was nakedly political and self-interested, and designed to interfere with the Special Counsel’s investigation.”
Below, find the link to the unclassified Schiff memo, and a background document to accompany it: