President Donald Trump indicated Friday morning that the release of several documents related to the Russia investigation might not happen after all because of pushback from government officials and U.S. allies.
Trump posted two tweets (here and here) that explained the latest update to his order earlier this week to declassify the documents and other records dating back to 2016.
"I met with the DOJ concerning the declassification of various UNREDACTED documents. They agreed to release them but stated that so doing may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe," Trump wrote. "Also, key Allies called to ask not to release. Therefore, the Inspector General.....
"….has been asked to review these documents on an expedited basis. I believe he will move quickly on this (and hopefully other things which he is looking at). In the end I can always declassify if it proves necessary. Speed is very important to me — and everyone!"
Trump has long pushed back on the Russia probe, saying his campaign had no improper ties to Russia and they did not work together to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. He said on Tuesday that declassifying the records could be one of the "crowning achievements" of his presidency because he said they will expose corruption at the FBI.