MEMOGATE

Trump Blocks Democrat Memo Release, After Approving GOP One

Don McGahn, the president's lawyer, said it “contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages.”

On Friday night, President Trump blocked the release of a classified Democratic memo which was intended to push back on a previous Republican memo claiming that federal law enforcement officials had abused surveillance powers to spy on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page. The president's lawyer, Don McGahn, wrote in a letter to the House Intelligence Committee that the memo “contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages.” Additionally he said Trump would consider its release if the committee revised the memo. The president released the Republican memo despite stern warnings from law enforcement officials against doing so.