NEWSWATCH: “Release the FISA Documents; The public deserves to see the full record on the FBI wiretap request” – Wall Street Journal editorial

February 12, 2018 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia file photo, adapted from image at dc.uscourts.gov

“… Trump … refused to declassify the Democratic memo on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA)[sic; the court abbreviates itself as FISC, and deals with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)]… , sending it back for negotiation with the Justice Department over intelligence sources and methods. … Trump claimed … that Democrats laid a trap … deliberately adding classified material … they knew ‘would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency.’ … sources say the Democratic memo … argues for the credibility of Christopher Steele …. [argues] that the FBI had good reason to surveil [Trump campaign adviser Carter] Page, and … [argues] that the GOP memo is partisan. … The questions surrounding the legitimacy of a U.S. presidential election and potential abuse by the FBI are too important to public trust …. Americans can handle the truth, and they deserve to see it.”