Trump's declassification order could backfire and show even more evidence of Russian meddling: CNN guest

A. B. Stoddard told CNN's Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto Tuesday that President Trump runs a big risk by declassifying documents relating to the Russia probe and the Carter Page FISA warrant: the documents could justify the entire special counsel investigation.

One danger the president faced was "the substance of the text messages and when they come out, what they will reveal," Stoddard said. "Potentially does it not show that there was a deep state, tainted probe into the Trump campaign, but they were in fact following the correct protocols."

"I think that the Trump administration shrewdly chose to make this announcement in the middle of the Brett Kavanaugh controversy so voters might not notice," Stoddard added, noting that the timing of the release shows the White House knows the risks of declassification.

Stoddard said that while "Republicans will never come out and say this is an abuse of power," the real impact will be seen when the documents are actually released.

"At that point, do the voters pay attention?" she asked. "And does it become part of the calculus of what we see now in polling, which is 50% of Americans want Democrats to come in to the majority as a check on an overreaching President Trump."

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