Lawmakers vote to release Democrats’ FBI memo

WASHINGTON—The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously Monday to release a classified memo written by Democrats to counter a Republican memo alleging anti-Trump bias at the FBI. On Friday, President Donald Trump agreed to release the GOP memo, and he has until the end of this week to make a determination on the new document. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, told reporters Monday that Republicans didn’t have any choice but to approve the release of the Democrats’ memo: “The majority found themselves in an insupportable position when they released a misleading memo and refused to release the Democrats’ response, so I think they were compelled to take the action they did today, and we think this will be very useful information for the American people to see.” Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the committee chair who authored the GOP memo, declined to comment on Monday’s vote. Trump claimed Nunes’ memo “vindicated” him in the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections to the Trump campaign. Democrats maintain the document cherry-picked information and omitted key details about the FBI’s work. The White House said Monday it is reviewing the Democrats’ document. “The administration will follow the same process and procedure with this memorandum from the minority as it did last week,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.