The author of a newly released Democratic memo on investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election defended his work on Sunday, after being attacked by Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that the memo was “a total political and legal BUST”. He also tweeted personal abuse of California congressman Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, who he told Fox News was “a bad guy” responsible for leaks that were “probably illegal”.
Referring to an infamous Trump remark about Mexican immigrants, Schiff told CNN’s State of the Union he was “proud to be one of the bad hombres, I guess”.
Trump’s anger about leaks, Schiff said, was likely based on his discussion of Donald Trump Jr’s appearance before the House intelligence committee in December. The president’s son claimed attorney-client privilege to avoid discussing the drafting of a misleading statement about a meeting with Russians offering “dirt” on Hillary Clinton at Trump Tower in June 2016.
Attorney-client privilege did not apply, Schiff said, adding that his discussion of Trump Jr’s appearance was “not a leak, it’s a fact”.
The Democratic memo was published with redactions two weeks after Trump blocked its full release. The document aims to counter a Republican narrative that the FBI and justice department conspired against Trump as they investigated his ties to Russia.
A Republican memo was made public earlier this month, with no objection from the White House. In that document, Republicans on the House intelligence panel attacked the FBI and justice department over the use of information compiled by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, to obtain a secret warrant to monitor the communications of a Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
