Secret GOP memo: The FBI has ‚grave concerns‘
„Oh yeah, don’t worry, 100 percent.“
That statement from President Trump, caught by a camera after Tuesday night’s State of the Union, aimed to assure a Republican lawmaker that he would release a classified memo alleging the FBI and Justice Department illegally spied on Trump during his campaign.
On Wednesday, though, the FBI raised the stakes: In an unusual public statement, the bureau cited its „grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.“
The memo from Republican staffers purportedly relays damning evidence gathered during the Russia investigation by House lawmakers. Democrats on the investigation, however, call it a cherry picking distraction aimed at protecting Trump.
Whatever’s in the memo, we’ll soon find out: It’s set to be released, pending Trump’s review .
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Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S. C., best known for investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack and his inconsistent haircuts ( his own words, for the record) said he won’t seek re-election in the 2018 midterms, joining an avalanche of retiring House Republicans. Forty-one Republicans plan to leave the House so far, compared to just 16 Democrats — an unbalance that threatens the GOP’s House majority. So why are Republicans leaving? Reasons abound: Congressional dysfunction, their increasingly conservative party, shaky re-election odds and a president seen as wildly erratic are among them.
As Republicans traveled to a retreat in West Virginia, the train they were aboard collided with a garbage truck Wednesday, leaving at least one person, who was not a member of Congress, dead. Lawmakers and their staff suffered no serious injuries in the accident along the Virginia countryside. The GOP retreat, set to begin Thursday, will go on — with a prayer for those affected by the crash. Meanwhile, back in Washington:
Sen. Bob Menendez, trailed for years by corruption charges, saw the Justice Department move Wednesday to drop a barely there indictment against him. “Absolutely nobody expected this today,“ said Menendez attorney Ray Brown, who had been readying for another trial. The New Jersey Democrat, cleared last week of multiple bribery and fraud counts, had still faced charges tied to vacations given to him in the Dominican Republic.
