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Nunes memo: A list of officials involved in the controversial GOP memo

By Fiza Pirani
Feb 2, 2018

On Friday, President Donald Trump approved the release of a controversial congressional GOP memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI.

» RELATED: Nunes memo: Controversial GOP memo alleging missteps in Russia probe released

The disputed memo from the GOP and Rep. Devin Nunes is considered "the most explicit Republican effort yet to discredit the FBI's investigation into Trump and Russia" and alleges that there was an anti-Trump bias under the Obama administration that influenced the investigation, CNN reported.

It specifically alleges that the FBI relied on a private dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele in order to obtain a warrant to monitor Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Steele was retained by Fusion GPS, a research firm hired by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee to find information on Trump. The dossier alleged that in 2016, Page had plotted with Russia’s top oil executives to influence U.S. foreign policy for a huge profit.

» RELATED: Who is Carter Page; how is he connected to the Nunes memo?

The memo charges that FBI agents improperly failed to disclose that Steele's work had Democratic funding and that Steele had openly expressed dislike for Trump. But FBI officials argued the memo "mischaracterizes underlying intelligence and omits facts about evidence the bureau used to obtain its FISA warrants," Politico reported.

Both the Justice Department and the American intelligence community opposed the release of the memo, which is based on classified information.

» RELATED: Some notable nuggets from inside the GOP memo on the Trump-Russia investigation

Former FBI Director James Comey criticized the decision to release the memo on Twitter.

"That's it? (The) dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House (Intelligence) Committee, destroyed trust with (the) intelligence community, damaged relationship with FISA court and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen," Comey wrote. "For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs."

Here’s a list of the major people involved in the document:

President Donald Trump

House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes

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House Intelligence ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff

Former British spy Christopher Steele

» RELATED: Congress releases Russia-linked Facebook ads

Former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page

FBI Director Christopher Wray

» RELATED: What is a FISA warrant?

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

James Comey

» RELATED: James Comey to teach ethical leadership course at College of William & Mary

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe

Sally Yates

Dana Boente

Reporter Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News

FULL TEXT OF MEMO:

Nunes memo released by National Content Desk on Scribd

About the Author

Fiza Pirani is an Atlanta-based freelance writer and editor.

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