Democratic House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff shared a letter on Twitter late Wednesday accusing Rep. Devin Nunes of making “material changes” to the version of the classified House GOP memo that had been sent to the White House. The memo, which had been condemned by FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier on Wednesday, is an attempt to discredit the FBI’s surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. House Republicans voted for the release of the memo to the public earlier in the week, with reports indicating it could see release on Thursday.
Schiff’s claims come in an official letter that claims the version currently sitting with The White House is different than the version approved by the committee and has not been cleared for release:
BREAKING: Discovered late tonight that Chairman Nunes made material changes to the memo he sent to White House – changes not approved by the Committee. White House therefore reviewing a document the Committee has not approved for release. pic.twitter.com/llhQK9L7l6
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 1, 2018
According to the letter from Schiff, the Democrats on the committee had found the original document had been “secretly altered” and offered an opportunity for the Republicans to compare it with a version made public to the entire House according to The Hill:
“This evening the Committee Minority discovered that the classified memorandum shared by the Committee Majority with the White House is not, in fact, the same document that Members of the House of Representatives have been reviewing since January 18, 2018 and that the Committee Majority voted on Monday to release to the public, over objections from the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the letter from Schiff reads…
After comparing the two versions “it is clear” that Republicans “made material changes to the version it sent to the White House, which Committee Members were never apprised of, never had the opportunity to review and never approved.”
Committee Democrats have joined behind Schiff in drafting their own memo following Monday’s GOP vote according to The Hill, claiming that the version sent to President Trump is inaccurate. This was voted down, however, after the Democrats attempted to make their version public. Senator Chuck Schumer weighed in following Schiff’s letter, calling on House Speaker Paul Ryan to put an end to Nune’s “charade”:
“It’s clear that Chairman Nunes will seemingly stop at nothing to undermine the rule of law and interfere with the Russia probe,” Schumer said. “He’s been willing to carry the White House’s water, attack our law enforcement and intelligence officials, and now to mislead his House colleagues. If Speaker Ryan cares about the integrity of the House or the rule of law, he will put an end to this charade once and for all.”