FBI Director Opposes Release of the Nunes Memo

We know the Nunes memo that purportedly reveals some kind of conspiracy at the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is full of holes and lies, but you don't have to take our word for it.

Bloomberg first reported this morning that FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump, told the White House that the memo is bullshit.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the White House he opposes release of a classified Republican memo alleging bias at the FBI and Justice Department because it contains inaccurate information and paints a false narrative, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The FBI isn’t included in the inter-agency review process led by the White House aimed at deciding whether -- and how much of -- the memo can be made public. Wray was allowed to read the memo on Sunday.

The Justice Department has also advised Congress and the White House that it should remain classified, but I don't think Trump gives two shits about that.

The only thing that matters to Trump is his personal vanity and I don't expect advice from the top law enforcement officials in the country will make a lick of difference.

We know who and what Trump is, but I want to take a moment to talk about why Justice Department officials and the FBI director oppose releasing the memo.

It's not just that the memo may wrongfully implicate agents or officials in some kind of conspiracy theory. The memo could undermine the entire Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the FISA court which approves FISA warrants. It could undermine ongoing investigations and investigations that haven't even begun yet. It could undermine future efforts to obtain warrants on foreign agents.

There's an inescapable parallel here to former NSA contractor and defector Edward Snowden who told the world many fantastical things about surveillance that simply weren't true. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes is painting an equally misleading picture of intelligence gathering on Americans acting as foreign agents. In this case, Carter Page.

Snowden claimed federal authorities routinely spy on Americans without a warrant. Devin Nunes wants you to believe officials responsible for obtaining warrants are corrupt.

This may be another topic for another day, but I think there may not be a Devin Nunes if Snowden didn't come first. I don't think there would be a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election if Snowden didn't come first. Trump may not even be president if Snowden didn't come first.

Update... the FBI has also issued rare public statement: