The Hill: Panetta: ‘Constitutional crisis’ if Trump OKs memo’s release over FBI objections

Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Thursday that President Trump risks a “constitutional crisis” by pushing for the release of a GOP memo detailing alleged government surveillance abuses over objections from the FBI.

In an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, Panetta said he worries that the system of checks and balances in the federal government is breaking down.

“There is no question, Chuck, that it is breaking down the process as it was designed to work so that all sides would have say in the process,” Panetta said on MSNBC’s “MTP Daily.”

“We have check and balances. But you have to establish ways for those checks and balances to work,” the former Obama administration official continued.