WASHINGTON – Rep. Trey Gowdy, one of the Republicans who authored a controversial memo alleging FBI surveillance abuses, on Sunday rejected President Trump’s claim that the document “totally vindicated” him in the Russia investigation.
“I actually don’t think it has any impact on the Russia probe,” said Gowdy (R-S.C.), who helped draft the House Intelligence Committee memo that was declassified by the president on Friday.
The memo alleges the FBI misled a federal surveillance court in a request to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, based off claims in a damaging dossier authored by former British spy Christopher Steele.
The FBI agents seeking the surveillance didn’t disclose the Democrats paid for the dossier, the memo claims.
Gowdy, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said he believes the FISA judge would not have authorized the surveillance of Page without the damaging claims in the dossier, referring to the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act.
However, Gowdy said there’s enough other suspicious evidence that would have launched a Russian investigation into the Trump campaign.
“There is a Russia investigation without a dossier,” Gowdy told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “So to the extent the memo deals with the dossier and the FISA process, the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower.
The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica. The dossier really has nothing to do with George Papadopoulos’ meeting in Great Britain. It also doesn’t have anything to do with obstruction of justice.
So there’s going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier.”
Trump has blasted the FBI for launching an investigation into whether his campaign worked with Russians to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
He claimed in a tweet on Saturday that the four-page document vindicated him and “collusion is dead. ”
But Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who supported the release of the memo as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the document does not clear Trump of wrongdoing and Special Counsel Robert Mueller should continue digging.
“No, it doesn’t end that need at all,” Stewart told “Fox News Sunday.” “I think it would be a mistake for anyone to suggest that the special counsel shouldn’t complete his work. I support his work. … This memo has frankly nothing at all to do with the special counsel.”
Democrats have blasted the release of cherry-picked details of the FBI case as a political stunt aimed at discrediting the Mueller investigation and protecting Trump.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said the Russia investigation so far shows a “deep willingness” by the Trump campaign, family and businesses “to work with the Russians and to receive information on Hillary Clinton. We’ve got to do something about it to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Swalwell wants a classified memo drafted by Democrats that refutes the GOP memo to also be released to the public.
Swalwell stood by the FBI request to surveil Page, saying the FBI presented a “barrage of evidence,” including the Russian ties by fellow Trump adviser Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
“Carter Page also since 2013 had been suspected of being a Russian foreign agent and we just learned today … that Carter Page sent a letter in 2013 saying that he had been doing work for the Kremlin,” Swalwell said, referring to a Time Magazine article.
“They had all the right in the world to be concerned.”
Page had not been indicted in the Russia probe and has denied any wrongdoing.