WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump appears poised to release a classified memo crafted by House Republicans that casts doubt on the Justice Department's investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling without first reviewing it.
As Trump exited the House chamber after delivering his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, South Carolina GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan shouted: "Mr. President, let's release the memo."
The president, who has the authority to declassify any piece of information shot back: "Don't worry, 100 percent. Can you imagine?"
The exchange was caught on a hot microphone.
Trump's enthusiasm about making the document public came as the White House has given no indication the president has read the memo, prepared by the House Intelligence Committee Republican members over the howls of its Democratic side.
The GOP-crafted document reportedly accuses the FBI of overstepping its authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by using the controversial dossier on Trump and Russia when it sought and obtained a surveillance warrant on a former campaign aide.
The Intelligence panel voted along party lines Monday evening to release it; Trump had five days to decide whether to authorize its release.
On Tuesday, a few hours before the hot mic moment, Trump's top spokeswoman said there were "no current plans" to release it. "The president has not seen or been briefed on the memo or reviewed its contents," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
She reiterated that in a television interview Wednesday morning, saying Trump had not seen the memo when he entered the House chamber on Tuesday night.
