FISA memo explainer: Here's what we know about the controversial memo so far

The latest kerfuffle in the ongoing Russia investigation is over the release of a classified, four-page memo which may or may not show that the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation abused their FISA court authorized surveillance powers.

In a nutshell, please

Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, commissioned the controversial memo which allegedly accuses the FBI and Justice Department of:

1.) Being politically biased against President Donald Trump in their investigation of Trump-Russia collusion during the 2016 campaign.

2.) Misleading the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in order to obtain a warrant which would allow eavesdropping on Trump campaign officials, namely Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Allegedly, the FISA judge involved in the warrant request process was not told that the incriminating Trump-Russia dossier -- which was necessary to establish a need for FBI surveillance -- was financed in part by the Democratic National Committee.

Remind me about that dossier

As you may remember during the whole Fusion GPS/ Trump dossier debacle, the dossier was compiled by former British spy, Christopher Steele. Steele was reportedly paid by political consulting firm, Fusion GPS. And Fusion GPS was hired by Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Back to the memo, why hasn’t it been released?

Democrats claim that Republicans will use the memo to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, both of whom were brought in by Trump and Senate Republicans, say that releasing the memo could jeopardize classified information and have expressed “grave concerns” about the memo’s accuracy.

Of course, Glenn has a few thoughts and theories to add as well. Watch the clip above to learn more about the controversial Nunes FISA memo, what it says, and why some people would prefer that it never sees the light of day.

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