U.S. President Donald Trump declassified a trove of documents related to the early days of the FBI’s Russia investigation, including a portion of a secret surveillance warrant application and former FBI Director James Comey’s messages.
Mr. Trump made the extraordinary move on Monday in response to calls from his allies in Congress who say they believe the Russia investigation was tainted by anti-Trump bias within the ranks of the FBI and the Justice Department.
FBI documents
Mr. Trump’s decision will result in the release of text messages and documents involving several top Justice Department and FBI officials who Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked over the last year.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Mr. Trump’s decision in a written statement, saying that he had directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Justice Department to declassify the documents “at the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency”. .
In statements on Monday evening, the Justice Department and the office of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said they are working together to comply with Mr. Trump’s order, which triggers a declassification review by various agencies “to seek to ensure the safety of America’s national security interests”. That review is ongoing.
