Is Trump's memo a successful attempt to strike FBI's Russia probe?

US President Donald Trump authorized the release of a Republican-drafted memo accusing the FBI of bias and abuse of power on Friday. It was seen as his counterstrike at the prosecutors who have pinned him on the probe of Russia's meddling in his presidential election in 2017.

Trump's one-year-old presidency has been dominated by allegations that multiple aides, including his son Don Jr. and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, may have coordinated with the Kremlin to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Hours before the memo's release, Trump said on Twitter, "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago."

Trump's son Don Jr. tweeted that it should be "game over" for the Russia investigation.

But is the memo an effective fight back against the country's top law enforcement officials? Probably not.

Reactions over the memo's release

Democrats and some Republicans have cried foul over the document, dismissing its release as little more than a stunt, and another thinly veiled effort to undermine the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia. They claim the document has glaring holes.

The FBI on Wednesday had expressed “grave concerns about material omissions of fact” in the document and urged that it not be made public.

Former FBI head James Comey, who was fired by Trump last year after refusing to pledge loyalty to the president, tweeted after the memo's release: "That's it? Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs."

"The selective release and politicization of classified information sets a terrible precedent and will do long-term damage to the Intelligence Community and our law enforcement agencies," House intelligence committee Democrats said in a statement.

What's the memo about?

The previously classified four-page document alleges that the federal probe of potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was a product of political bias against Trump at the FBI and Justice Department.

The memo focused on court-approved surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser with ties to Russia, and said the FBI used a source who was strongly biased against Trump, former British spy Christopher Steele, to justify the action.

It alleged that a dossier of alleged Trump-Russia contacts compiled by Steele, and funded in part by US Democrats, formed an “essential part” of requests to a special court to be allowed to conduct electronic surveillance on Page that began in October 2016.

A copy of the memo written by House Intelligence Committee Republican staff and declassified for release by US President Donald Trump is seen shortly after it was released by the committee in Washington, DC, Feb. 2, 2018.

It said the initial application and subsequent renewal applications, signed off on by various senior Justice Department officials, did not mention the link between Steele and the Democrats. It also portrayed Steele as “passionate” about Trump not becoming president.

The memo was commissioned by Devin Nunes, a Trump transition official, Congressman and House Intelligence Committee chairman. He said it laid bare "serious violations of the public trust, and the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes."

Key figures under influence

Democrats warned Trump against using it as a pretext to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who hired Mueller and oversees the investigation, or Mueller himself.

"I think it's a disgrace. What's going on in this country, I think it's a disgrace," Trump said as he announced his decision to release the memo. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much worse than that."

FBI Director Christopher Wray

The memo's release also called into question the future of Trump's hand-picked FBI Director Christopher Wray.

But he shrugged off attacks on the FBI's independence and pledged to defend his agents in an internal letter sent to staff on Friday.

"Talk is cheap; the work you do is what will endure," Wray wrote. "Let me be clear: I stand fully committed to our mission... I stand with you."

Perhaps the biggest question hung over Special Counsel Robert Mueller and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Special Counsel Robert Mueller launched a criminal probe into the Russia probe in May 2017. He is also examining whether Trump has committed obstruction of justice in trying to thwart the Russia probe.

Mueller's probe has led to guilty pleas by two of Trump's foreign policy advisers to charges of lying to the FBI, including onetime national security adviser Michael Flynn, and indictments of former campaign manager Paul Manafort and Manafort's business partner Rick Gates.

Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt," denying any collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice. Moscow has denied any election meddling.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

The memo revealed the names of senior FBI and Justice Department officials including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was the only law enforcement official named in the memo who has not already been fired by Trump or moved from their post.

Rosenstein hired Mueller and oversees the investigation, after Trump fired Comey last May.

Asked by reporters whether the memo made him more likely to fire Rosenstein or whether he had confidence in him, Trump replied, "You figure that one out."

But the president faced intense pushback from Democrats in Congress, who warned that any attempt to fire Rosenstein or Mueller would be seen as obstruction.

"We write to inform you that we would consider such an unwarranted action as an attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Nancy Pelosi and eight other key Democrats said in a statement.

"Firing Rod Rosenstein, DOJ Leadership, or Bob Mueller could result in a constitutional crisis of the kind not seen since the Saturday Night Massacre," they said, referring to disgraced president Richard Nixon's orders to fire justice officials during the Watergate scandal.

Several senior Republican senators also weighed in to show their displeasure.

A White House official later said there have been no discussions about firing Rosenstein. When asked about the potential dismissal of Rosenstein, White House press spokesman Raj Shah told CNN late on Friday that there would be "no changes" at the Justice Department.

"We fully expect Rod Rosenstein to continue on as the deputy attorney general," he said.

(CGTN)