Donald Trump has launched a Twitter tirade following the publication of a controversial Republican memo said to accuse the FBI of abusing its powers.
The President of the United States told his 47 million followers his approval ratings had "jumped to 49 per cent" and, referring to himself in the third person, said the memo "totally vindicates 'Trump'".
He wrote: "Rasmussen just announced that my approval rating jumped to 49%, a far better number than I had in winning the Election, and higher than certain 'sacred cows'.
"Other Trump polls are way up also. So why does the media refuse to write this? Oh well, someday!
"This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on.
"[There] was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!"
The memo accuses the US agency of abusing government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.
It says an FBI official acknowledged to lawmakers that a dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele was an "essential part" of an application for surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
The memo said that the agency did not mention that information used to justify surveillance on Page was from the Dossier and thus part-funded by rival Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton.
The FBI says it has "grave concerns" about the document's accuracy. The US justice department, as well as Democrats and some Republicans, had voiced opposition to the memo being released.
The US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions said in a statement that the memo reflected an “issue of great importance for the country” and said: “I have great confidence in the men and women of this Department. But no Department is perfect.
"Accordingly, I will forward to appropriate DOJ components all information I receive from Congress regarding this. I am determined that we will fully and fairly ascertain the truth.
"We work for the American people and are accountable to them and those they have elected. We will meet that responsibility."
