U.S. President Donald Trump has approved publication of a Republican memo that argues that top law enforcement officials abused their investigative authority for partisan ends during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. The House released the memo to the public shortly after on Friday.
A White House official confirmed to VOA that a message had been sent to the House Intelligence Committee that the president has no objection to declassification of the memo, which was written by the committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, Trump said what he had read in the memo was "terrible." During a photo opportunity with North Korean defectors, Trump said, "I think it's a disgrace what's going on in this country... A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves, and much worse than that."
The president authorized the release of the document despite the strong objections of top officials at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
When asked by a reporter whether release of the memo makes it more likely that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would be fired, Trump replied, "You figure that one out."
Release of the memo intensifies the battle between Trump and his Republican allies in Congress on one side, and Democrats and top FBI officials on the other about whether the probe into Russian interference in the presidential election was affected by political bias on the part of investigators.
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have prepared their own memo, countering the Republican claims.
美国总统川普已经同意公布一份由一名共和党人起草的备忘录，其内容质疑最高执法官员在2016年总统竞选活动期间和之后为了党派利益，滥用调查职权。众议院星期五在得到总统批准后不久公布了这份备忘录。
一位白宫官员对美国之音确认，众议院情报委员会已经收到信息，得知总统不反对将这份备忘录做解密处理。备忘录的作者是该委员会主席、共和党众议员德文·努涅斯。
川普星期五在白宫对记者们说，他在备忘录中读到的内容“非常糟糕”。川普在与“脱北者”合影时说：“我认为这个国家正在发生的事令人羞耻......许多人应该为自己感到羞愧，甚至这还远远不够。”
尽管司法部和联邦调查局（FBI）的最高层官员强烈反对，总统仍授权公布了这份文件。
当被记者问及公布这份备忘录是否可能导致司法部副部长罗森斯坦更有可能被解职时，川普回应说：“你自己找答案。”
备忘录的公布令目前剑拔弩张的局面更加紧张。一面是川普和他在国会的共和党同盟，另一面是民主党和最高级FBI官员，双方争论焦点是总统竞选期间的“通俄门”调查是否受到政治偏见的影响。
众议院情报委员会的民主党成员已经准备好他们自己的备忘录，以回应共和党人的指称。