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President Trump set to give green light on controversial memo, official says

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President Trump will likely tell the House Intelligence Committee on Friday that it can release the controversial memo about secret surveillance used during the Russia investigation, according to a senior administration official.

“The president is ok with it,” the official said. “I doubt there will be any redactions. It’s in Congress’ hands after that.”

Trump signaled his approval inadvertently on Tuesday night when he was caught on a television mic telling a House Republican after his State of the Union address in the House chamber that he “100%” supported the memo’s publication.

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But the White House still conducted a review that included Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The memo was prepared by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) using sensitive law enforcement records, including reports on conversations with informants and applications for warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Trump’s pending decision to allow the memo’s release comes over the objections of the FBI, which expressed concerns that it would reveal secret sources and methods and present information that hasn’t been made public before and is out of context.

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