The British government asked President Donald Trump not to release a trove of documents from the Russia investigation, according to The New York Times.
Trump ordered Monday the release of a slew of documents from the Russia probe, including a June 2017 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) application granted against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. But the Republican suddenly backtracked Friday, saying that he would refer declassification issues to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General.
Trump said the Justice Department and two foreign allies had raised concerns about declassifying and releasing the documents.
“I got called today from two very good allies saying, ‘Please, can we talk.’ It is not as simple as all of that,” he said. “We do have to respect their wishes. But it will all come out.”
The Times identified the British government as one of the two allies.
The British government “expressed grave concerns” over the release of materials that make “direct references to conversations between American law enforcement officials and Christopher Steele,” according to a former American and former British government official.
Steele, a former MI6 agent, is the author of the infamous and unverified anti-Trump dossier. He worked as a confidential human source for the FBI for years before the relationship was severed just before the election because of Steele’s unauthorized contacts with the press. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said President Trump was right to order the declassification of a number of key documents connected with the FBI’s investigation of alleged Russian collusion with members of his campaign team.
After ordering the declassification on Monday, Trump on Friday agreed to delay the release of key files related to the Russia investigation, asking the Justice Department inspector general to review the documents on an “expedited basis” amid concerns their publication may have a “negative impact” on the probe.
The documents Trump ordered declassified include a renewed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant against former campaign aide Carter Page and text messages from former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
“I haven’t seen the documents, but I do know that they will likely reveal what was hidden from the FISA court,” Gaetz said on “Outnumbered Overtime” on Friday.
He said it is “deeply troubling” if the FBI and Justice Department were purposefully hiding information from the FISA court that would have been embarrassing to top intelligence officials. – READ MORE
[contentcards url=”https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/23/british-trump-declassify-russia/” target=”_blank”]