President Trump has blocked the release of a memo regarding alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, stating it needed to be "heavily redacted" before it could be made public.
The memo, compiled by congressional Democrats, was written in response to one compiled by their Republican opponents which Mr Trump published in an unredacted form last week.
The head of the FBI criticised the decision to publish the unredacted memo, and told his staff – who are rumoured to be demoralised by the President – that he stood with them.
On Saturday, the President tweeted that the Democrats "sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency".
The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2018
Mr Trump added: "Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!"
Democrats have criticised the President for failing to publish their new memo, claiming it showed a double-standard regarding transparency.
The Republican memo alleges that that the FBI used unsubstantiated allegations by former British spy Christopher Steele to obtain a warrant to surveil a Trump campaign aide, and is considered to be sympathetic to the President.
President Trump approved the release of that secret four-page memo to the anger of the intelligence community, which it claimed was opposed to his election.
The Democrat memo, which is much longer than four pages, stresses the role of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and is understood to highlight potential collusion between Mr Trump's compaign and the Kremlin.
Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the Congressional Intelligence Committee, said that he will review the redactions recommended by the FBI.
"We hope this matter can be quickly resolved so the committee can return to its charge – fully investigating the Russian interference in our election and the role of the Trump campaign, and what steps need to be taken to protect against foreign interference in the next election, now only months away," Mr Schiff stated.
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Congressional elections in November will see all of the seats in the House of Representatives be challenged, alongside a third of those in the Senate.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said: "One week after he released the misleading and incomplete Nunes memo, President Trump tonight blocked the release of the Schiff memo that sought to fill in the holes. This is hypocrisy at its worst."
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Sky News
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