The schedule change occurred following sharp criticism from Democrats that the White House was politicizing intelligence by initially offering the briefing only to Republicans. Hours earlier, the White House had said that the briefing for the "Gang of Eight" would happen next month. But Republican critics of the Justice Department and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein remain deeply pessimistic that the Justice Department will divulge anything on Thursday. Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to demand the Justice Department investigate the FBI's use of a confidential source -- a step some of his outside advisers had been encouraging him to take. "I think senior staff at the White House are still generally of the view that it's better not to escalate."

Source: CNN May 23, 2018 23:07 UTC