The House Intelligence Committee's decision to release a memo that Republicans say shows an anti-Trump bias "crossed a dangerous line," Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff wrote Wednesday in an opinion piece for The Washington Post.
The GOP-majority committee voted Monday to release the document, written by Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and his staff, which accuses the Department of Justice and FBI of misusing their authority to get a secret surveillance order on one of Trump's former campaign aides.
"The party-line vote to release the Republican memo but not a Democratic response was a violent break from the committee’s nonpartisan tradition and the latest troubling sign that House Republicans are willing to put the president’s political dictates ahead of the national interest," wrote Schiff.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly early Wednesday said the memo would be released "pretty quick" and that "the whole world will see it," and President Donald Trump was overheard telling Republican lawmakers Tuesday he will "100 percent" release the memo.
Democratic lawmakers have claimed that the GOP's focus on the memo is part of a larger Republican effort to discredit the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday issued a public warning to Trump stating the memo omits key information that could impact its validity.
Schiff blamed House Speaker Paul Ryan for lacking the "courage" to stop Nunes, and said Trump has Republicans who have "cast aside their duty to uphold the law and perform oversight in favor of protecting the Trump presidency — no matter the cost."