Article snippet: The House Intelligence Committee on Monday voted unanimously to release a memo drafted by Democrats to rebut a GOP-crafted document alleging surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice (DOJ). The 10-page classified document now goes to MORE, who has five days to block its release if he so chooses. It remains an open question whether he will. Trump on Friday declassified the Republican document, which was drafted by staff for House Intel Chairman MORE (R-Calif.). Trump claimed the memo “totally vindicates” him in the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s alleged links to Russia. The central thrust of the Nunes memo is that senior DOJ officials inappropriately relied on a piece of opposition research paid for in part by MORE to obtain a surveillance warrant on Trump campaign aide Carter Page. It claims that without the so-called Steele dossier, no surveillance warrants would have been sought. The Democratic memo is expected to lay out a point-by-point rebuttal of the assertions in the Nunes memo and make the case that the FBI had good reason to spy on Page as part of the counterintelligence probe into the Trump campaign. A decision by the Trump White House to block its publication would almost certainly set off a firestorm of accusations from Democrats that he is attempting to obstruct justice. The White House has signaled that it is open to allowing the release of the Democratic memo, but included a caveat for national security protections. “The administ... Link to the full article to read more