Washington braces for polarizing Nunes memo

The classified Republican memo that has become a lightning rod in the battle between Republicans and Democrats over federal surveillance tactics is poised to be released as early as Friday, a move that's likely to start a new battle over what it says about the trustworthiness of the Justice Department and the FBI.

Thursday night, Republicans were still playing up the importance of the memo, after spending weeks hinting that it will show the government used cherry-picked information from Democrats to launch an investigation into Donald Trump's campaign team.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Thursday night that the "earth-shaking" memo reveals abuses that are "worse than Watergate." He said that after House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the memo represents the House's oversight work and that releasing it would help bring accountability to the FBI.

Democrats, on the other hand, were predicting a collapse of confidence in federal institutions based on half-truths and out-of-context information that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., pulled from his committee's investigation in a bid to protect Trump from the ongoing Russia probe.

One Democrat, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., was calling for an emergency hearing to understand what problems the FBI has in releasing it, a request Republicans were unlikely to fulfill.