In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole said that he hopes Congress will release the FISA memo that is reportedly very damaging to the U.S. intelligence community.
The classified memo allegedly details shocking abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in the FBI’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. In an interview with TheDC’s Vince Coglianese, Rep. Cole said that he hopes the memo will be released to the public.
“This is something the American people ought to see and draw their own conclusions,” Cole asserted. “The one thing we can do is urge our intelligence committee to have a vote to release this and you could have a vote by the full House of Representatives. I have no doubt that the House would vote to make this available to the American people.”
Cole denied allegations that the importance of the memo is being overstated, and called the contents of it “disturbing.”
“Sooner is better,” Cole said on releasing the memo. “We wouldn’t actually declassify it–that’s a long procedure to do.”
Coglianese asked Cole if reading the memo gave him any concern about the House’s recent vote to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA, but Cole explained that Section 702 applies to foreign surveillance as opposed to domestic.
“It was actually one of the best debates…as to what to do,” Cole said, arguing that there is evidence that Section 702 has saved American lives.
“The legislation itself was not just a reauthorization, there were real reforms in there, additional safeguards and securities for American citizens,” he continued. “I think we made the right decision.”
“When it’s your job to protect American citizens you want every tool available,” Cole concluded.
