President Trump told a member of Congress after delivering the State of the Union address that he would release the memo detailing abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by senior Justice Department and FBI officials investigating his campaign.
As Trump was leaving the chamber on Tuesday evening, he was surrounded by House members congratulating him on the address, and hoping to get signatures and snap selfies with him. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) could be overheard asking the president to “release the memo.”
Trump responded: “Don’t worry. A hundred percent.”
Although the memo, drafted by House Intelligence Committee, is classified, its members voted on Monday to release it to the public, using an arcane House rule that allows it to release classified information if it is in the public’s interest.
Per the rule, the president would then have five days to object. He can also approve of releasing it before the five days expire.
The White House before the vote on Monday said the president had not yet seen the memo, but it was in favor of transparency and indicated it supported the release of the memo. After the vote on Monday, the memo was couriered over to the White House.
The president’s remarks Tuesday were the first time he has publicly commented on the memo since it was taken to the White House for review.
The memo reportedly details how senior DOJ and FBI officials during the Obama administration used the Trump dossier — unverified opposition research funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee — as part of their justification to obtain a spy warrant on a Trump campaign adviser.
C-SPAN’s livestream coverage of the address picked up the exchange between Trump and Duncan: