Earlier this week, President Donald Trump made the controversial decision to declassify text messages and documentsrelated to the Russia investigation — a move that some experts worry could jeopardize sources and reveal secret methods used by the intelligence community.
"This is a line that Trump crossed," homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem told Boston Public Radio Wednesday.
"Basically the subject of the investigation is demanding that the evidence, potentially against him, be declassified," Kayyem continued. "That's not acceptable from the Department of Justice's viewpoint."
The declassified materials include portions of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for former Trump aide Carter Page, as well as other documents that are part of the ongoing investigation into connections between the president's 2016 election campaign and the Russian government.
Trump defended the decision on Twitter, saying that the information released will expose "really bad things" allegedly happening at the FBI. But Kayyem believes the documents will speak to the importance of the special counsel's investigation — not discredit it.
"Maybe this is the fourth or fifth time ... that the White House has demanded the release of something which sort of gets thrown back in their face," she said. "Every single time this happens, the evidence actually suggests that the investigation is solid and the evidence against the White House and others is pretty strong."
