FBI, White House fight over controversial Republican memo
Washington: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has clashed with US President Donald Trump over a Republican intelligence memo, developing the rift between the leader and the agency probing Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The memo apparently accuses the Justice Department and the agency of abusing a surveillance programme known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) during the 2016 election campaign.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday sent a striking signal to the White House, issuing a rare public warning that the memo omits key information that could impact its veracity.
The move set up an unpleasant clash between Wray and Trump, who already has fired one FBI Director and has repeatedly expressed a desire to remove the Attorney General and others connected to the Russia investigation.
The President wants the memo released and told his advisers that he believes it makes the case that the FBI and Justice Department officials acted inappropriately when they sought the highly-classified warrant in October 2016 on campaign adviser Carter Page, the New York Times reported.
"We have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy," the FBI said.
On Wednesday, White House chief of staff John Kelly predicted the memo would be released "pretty quick" and that "the whole world will see it".
Trump himself was overheard telling a Republican congressman after the State of the Union address he will "100 per cent" release the memo.
Democrats made a last-minute attempt to halt the process on late Wednesday.
The Justice Department has warned repeatedly that the memo, prepared by Republican staff members on the House Intelligence Committee, is "misleading" and that its release would set a bad precedent for making government secrets public, including sensitive sources of information and methods of intelligence gathering.
FBI officials said the President "was prioritizing politics over national security and is putting the bureau's reputation at risk".
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Mercury plunges in Kashmir after brief respite, Shopian freezes at minus 6.4 deg C
Srinagar (PTI): Night temperatures in Kashmir dropped several degrees below the freezing point, even as a thick layer of fog engulfed parts of the valley, with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Saturday.
Shopian was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, they said.
The mercury had on Thursday night settled above the freezing point at most places in the valley, providing huge relief to the residents from the biting cold conditions.
However, temperatures dropped across Kashmir on Friday night, bringing back the freezing cold, the officials said.
On the Friday night, the minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, a sharp drop from 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.
The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, the officials said.
Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg lodged minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and Konibal town in Pulwama district recorded minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.
The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on December 6-7, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.
