House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., arrives for a House Intelligence Committee meeting on Capitol Hill.

'The Memo,' Selective Disclosure and the Fight for True Transparency

On the Media | Feb 2, 2018

On Friday, President Donald Trump authorized the release of a disputed House Intelligence Committee memo which had been championed by Republican committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes. To senior FBI and Justice Department officials, the document furthers a seriously misleading, even dangerous, narrative; to Republicans and Fox News pundits, it reveals corruption and insidious bias at the very core of the Justice Department's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

According to transparency advocate Steven Aftergood,  those hailing the memo as a bombshell are acting in bad faith disguised as openness. Aftergood and Bob discuss the implications of the memo and why this week's news might complicate black-and-white frameworks for disclosure and secrecy.

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