The Honorable Devin Nunes
Page Two
In addition, we have also heard that HPSCI is considering making the classified memorandum available to the public and the media, an unprecedented action. We believe it would be extraordinarily reckless for the Committee to disclose such information publicly without giving the Department and the FBI the opportunity to review the memorandum and to advise the HPSCI of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from public release. Indeed, we do not understand why the Committee would possibly seek to disclose classified and law enforcement sensitive information without first consulting with the relevant members of the Intelligence Community.
Seeking Committee approval of public release would require HPSCI committee members to vote on a staff-drafted memorandum that purports to be based on classified source materials that neither you nor most of them have seen. Given HPSCI’s important role in overseeing the nation’s intelligence community, you well understand the damaging impact that the release of classified material could have on our national security and our ability to share and receive sensitive information from friendly foreign governments. We know that committee members take this responsibility seriously, and would not risk damage to our intelligence community or the important work it does in safeguarding the American people. Additionally, we believe that wider distribution of the classified information presumably contained within your memorandum would represent a significant deviation from the terms of access negotiated in good faith by the Department, HPSCI, and the Office of Speaker Paul Ryan.
The Department renews its request—as previously made in a personal appeal by the Director of the FBI—for an opportunity to review the memorandum in question so that it may respond to the Committee before any vote on public release. In the alternative, should you wish not to provide the memorandum to the Deputy Attorney General and the FBI Director, we encourage you to provide it to Michael E. Horowitz, the Department’s Inspector General. His office would appropriately investigate any alleged wrongdoing by the FBI or other Department personnel and independently assess whether prior public release of the memorandum would impair its ability to do so.
cc: The Honorable Adam Schiff
Ranking Member
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
