GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz says intel document contains 'disturbing' information about the DOJ and FBI

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida sounded the alarm Thursday over a four-page intelligence document he's reviewed that he says contained "disturbing" information about the Department of Justice and the FBI over FISA surveillance.

Here's the video of Gaetz's claims:

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) demands FISA abuse memo be released immediately: "The allegations contained in this important intelligence document go to the very foundations of our democracy." pic.twitter.com/fXw1eYGo9q

— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 18, 2018

Here's what he said:

When asked by Fox Business host Liz Claman about what was in the document and why he was concerned, Gaetz stated that the allegations in the document "go to the very foundations of our democracy and they require an immediate release to the public in my opinion."

"Unfortunately, I cannot talk about the specific facts contained within this memo," he added, "I can only share my observation that if the American people knew what was happening, if they saw the contents of this memo, a lot would come clear about the information that I've been talking about on television for the past several months."

He went on to call on GOP leadership to hold a vote in the House of Representatives "to make public the key contents of this intelligence memo regarding the FBI, the Department of Justice, and President [Donald] Trump."

Claman asked him to elaborate on the contents of the memo, but Gaetz said that wasn't an option:

I cannot discuss the specifics contained in the memo but folks who have been paying attention and watching what Congressman [Jim] Jordan [R-Ohio] and Congressman [Ron] DeSantis [R-Fla.] and others have been talking on television and in the Judiciary Committee would likely find the contents of this memo very interesting, very revealing, and just essential to the way our government interacts with the duly elected president of the United States.

The memo takes a life on its own

Activists on social media seized on the report to tweet under the hashtag "Release the Memo," which was trending nationally overnight. Other politicians are also calling for the release of the memo.