U.S. President Donald Trump fired off an angry tweet at the Democrats over the length and nature of the memo they wrote on the Russia investigation, which he declined to release.
In the tweet, Trump says the Democrats knew the memo “would have to be heavily redacted” and that the White House would be criticized for a “lack of transparency.”
READ MORE: Trump blocks release of Democrat-drafted Russia memo, cites national security concerns
“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,” he wrote.
He finished the tweet by saying that he told them to rewrite it and send it back to him.
On Friday, Trump announced that he would not allow the memo to be released citing security concerns.
The 10-page document was written in response to a four-page Republican memo, which took a critical view of the FBI and Justice Department. Trump approved the Republican memo a week earlier.
Upon Trump’s decision, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer asked, “Millions of Americans are asking one simple question: what is he hiding?”
READ MORE: Release of Democrats’ Russia counter memo approved by House panel
White House counsel Don McGahn said the Justice Department had identified portions of the 10-page memo written by Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee that “would create especially significant concerns for the national security and law enforcement interests of the country.”
Trump approved the Republican memo despite similar security concerns expressed by the FBI and the Justice Department.
WATCH: Trump now being pressured to “release the memo” – but a different memo
The controversial Republican memo, which was written by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, portrayed the Russia investigation as a product of political bias at the FBI and Justice Department against Trump. The morning after the memo was released, the U.S. president claimed it vindicated him from the investigations into ties between his 2016 election campaign and Russia.
READ MORE: What the Devin Nunes memo says (and doesn’t say) about the FBI, Trump and Russia
On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee approved the release of the Democratic response as long as Trump signed off on it.
The committee’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff, said the memo Trump blocked puts forth facts that the public needs to know, including that the FBI acted properly in seeking permission from a special court for surveillance of Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser with ties to Russia.
*With files from Reuters
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