While many were disappointed that President Trump did not address the controversial four-page memo during his State of the Union speech, he did address it on his way out of the speech. In a “hot mic” moment, the president was heard telling Representative Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) that he will “100 percent” release the memo to the public.
The exchange happened as the president was shaking hands and chatting with members of Congress and others on his way out of the speech. Duncan said, “Great speech, Mr. President” as he shook Trump’s hand, continuing, “Let’s release the memo.” Trump — waving his hand for emphasis, said, “Don’t worry. One hundred percent.” He then laughed and asked, “Can you imagine that?” Duncan echoed the sentiments of many Americans when he answered, “Yes sir!”
The memo — previously made available to the full House of Representatives — has caused quite a stir. Leading Republicans have called the contents of the four-page memo detailing FISA surveillance abuses by the FBI and Justice Department as “explosive,” “shocking,” “troubling,” and “alarming,” with Representative Scott Perry (R-Pa.) likening the behavior of surveillance hawks revealed in the memo to that of the Soviet KGB. Some have said the memo’s public release would end careers and land officials in jail.
The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday evening to allow the memo to be made public. That vote — like the vote to allow members of the House to see the memo — was along strict party lines, with every Democrat on the committee voting against it.
The memo is on the president’s desk, and he is now well into the five-day period he has (following Monday’s vote) to either object or approve the release. So the memo should be publicly available very soon. There was never any doubt that he would release the memo, since the White House publicly called on the committee to release it to the public.
While this “hot mic” moment lacks the scandal of some such moments that have occurred in the past in the careers of presidents and other elected officials, it is a landmark moment in the #ReleaseTheMemo battle waged by prominent Republicans. President Trump’s remarks are confirmation that the memo will soon be in the hands of the people, who will then be able to judge it for itself.
