GOP Presidential Hopefuls Blast FBI, Media as Durham Report Excoriates the Bureau for Breaking Faith

Conservative presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says special counsel John Durham’s final report on the FBI’s bogus investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Russia underscores his call to shut down the politically “weaponized” federal law enforcement agency. 

The Ohio entrepreneur joined fellow GOP presidential candidates in condemning what the report found to be the FBI’s failure to vet false allegations that former President Donald Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election that Trump ultimately won. 

Read the full story

Commentary: The FBI Copied Parts of the Debunked Steele Dossier Directly into Its Spy Requests

The FBI relied more extensively on Christopher Steele’s debunked dossier in their Russiagate investigation than has been revealed, inserting key parts from it into their applications for warrants to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign.

Agents did this without telling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that the precise wording was plucked directly from a political rumor sheet paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign or providing judges with any independent corroboration of the explosive allegations.

Read the full story

Durham Shows Jurors Emails to Prove Danchencko Concealed, Lied to FBI About Steele Dossier Sources

In the opening of the second day of Special Counsel John Durham’s case against Russia intelligence expert Igor Danchencko, Durham walked jurors through a series of emails to bolster his case that Danchenko lied to the FBI about gathering information in the agency’s 2016 Russia collusion probe.

Danchenko faces five counts for allegedly lying to the FBI about his role in gathering information about then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump during his 2016 White House bid, as part of a federal investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Read the full story

John Durham Asks Federal Court to Issue 30 Subpoenas for Steele Dossier Source Igor Danchenko’s Trial

Special counsel John Durham on Tuesday asked a federal court to issue 30 subpoenas for testimony in the trial against Igor Danchenko, the primary source of the discredited Steele dossier.

The court filing asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to issue the subpoenas for an “appearance before said Court at Alexandria, Virginia,” starting on Oct. 11 “to testify on behalf of the United States.”

Read the full story

Durham Zeroes In on Clinton Campaign, Could Call Some Aides to Testify, Court Memo Reveals

Hillary Clinton’s team long fought to keep its ties to Christopher Steele’s dossier from public view, but Special Counsel John Durham is now making clear he has a strong interest in her campaign’s behavior during the Russia collusion probe. He is even suggesting some of her aides could be summoned as trial witnesses.

Durham’s earth-shaking revelation came inside a routine court filing this month in the case of Igor Y. Danchenko, a Russian analyst who was a primary source in 2016 for Steele’s now-infamous dossier. Danchenko has been charged with repeatedly lying to the FBI during the Russia collusion probe and has pleaded innocent.

Read the full story

Commentary: New Twists in Durham Probe Reveal FBI Danchenko Recordings and Suspicions of Fiona Hill Lies

The indictment of Igor Danchenko, the “primary sub-source” of Christopher Steele’s infamous dossier, reveals that the FBI electronically recorded several previously undisclosed interviews with the Brookings Institution researcher. Separately, it raises suspicions, according to congressional sources, that his Brookings superior Fiona Hill may have committed perjury when testifying about Steele during President Trump’s first impeachment.

The existence of electronic records of Danchenko speaking to the FBI far more extensively than previously known creates the possibility that much more will come out about the origins of the Steele dossier and the way the opposition research was weaponized. And those under scrutiny in Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia affair will have to wonder whether information to which they previously attested jibes with the Danchenko recordings.

Read the full story

New Court Documents Detail Alleged Web of Lies Used to Fabricate Steele Dossier, Frame Trump

The indictment of Igor Danchenko, the primary source for the discredited Steele dossier, provides damning evidence alleging the Russian analyst repeatedly lied to the FBI. But it’s only part of a larger portrait emerging in federal court records chronicling how the U.S. government was bamboozled into investigating Donald Trump for Russia collusion by a circle of players connected to Hillary Clinton.

Just a few weeks before his arrest Thursday, Danchenko was served in late September with a federal subpoena in a separate civil case brought by executives connected to the Russia-based Alfa Bank. That case, like the indictment, has produced evidence Danchenko contrived the intelligence he provided to former MI6 agent Christopher Steele in 2016.

Read the full story

Russian Analyst, Primary Source for Steele Dossier Charged with Repeatedly Lying to FBI

Special Counsel John Durham on Thursday unsealed a federal grand jury indictment charging the primary source for the now-discredited Steele dossier with repeatedly lying to the FBI during the Russia collusion investigation that falsely tarred Donald Trump’s presidency.

The 39-page indictment alleges Russian analyst Igor Danchenko misled the FBI about his contacts with Russian government officials and a Democrat-connected public relations executive, falsehoods that materially affected the FBI’s investigation and its representations to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to get warrants targeting Trump’s campaign and one of its advisers.

Read the full story

George Soros Teams Up with Billionaire Who Backed Liberal Disinformation Efforts to Fund Anti-Disinformation Media Venture

Liberal tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, a funder of numerous disinformation projects, is backing a new media venture launched Tuesday that seeks to combat disinformation, according to a report.

Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, joined ranks with financier George Soros to fund Good Information Inc., which will “fund and scale businesses that cut through eco chambers with fact-based information,” Axios reported.

Read the full story

Lawyer Linked to Steele Dossier is Working for House Dems to Overturn Results of Iowa Election

House Democrats have hired Marc Elias, the elections lawyer linked to the infamous Steele dossier, to help in their bid to overturn the results of an Iowa House race won by a Republican incumbent.

According to Politico, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is paying Elias to represent the campaign of Rita Hart, a Democrat who lost by six votes to Rep. Mariannette Miller-Marks.

Hart has appealed to Congress to adjudicate the outcome of the election after state officials declared Miller-Marks the winner. Hart claims that Iowa officials failed to count 22 ballots that would have swayed the election in her favor.

Read the full story

John Durham Sought Christopher Steele’s Notes from a Meeting with The FBI in Which an Agent Said the Ex-Spy ‘Wasn’t Truthful’

John Durham, the U.S. attorney investigating aspects of the Trump-Russia probe, has sought notes that former British spy Christopher Steele took during his interviews in 2016 with the FBI regarding a since-debunked dossier he penned that accused the Trump campaign of colluding with the Russian government.

An FBI agent who took part in one of the interviews with Steele told Justice Department investigators that the ex-spy “clearly … wasn’t truthful” regarding his contacts with members of the media.

Read the full story

Clinton Associate Wrote Anti-Trump Dossier in 2016 Claiming He Had Russian FSB Source

Evidence released by the Senate this month reveals that longtime Hillary Clinton associate Cody Shearer received anti-Trump dirt in 2016 from a Russian intelligence source and got it into the hands of the FBI through the ex-British spy Christopher Steele.

Shearer’s claim that his information came from a Russian FSB source, experts say, should have alerted senior US officials that the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties Russia was compromised by its sources, Clinton surrogates and alleged Russian spies.

Read the full story

Trump Working on Declassification of Intel Documents From Hospital, Chief of Staff Says

President Donald Trump is working to declassify documents related to the Russia investigation while he recovers from coronavirus at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his chief of staff said Monday.

“This morning we’ve already had a couple of discussions on items that he wants to get done,” Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, said in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”

Read the full story

FBI Investigated Steele Dossier Source as a Possible Russian Spy Years Before Trump Probe

The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation on the primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele, and considered obtaining a warrant to wiretap him in 2010, according to a document released Thursday.

The FBI was also aware of the information about the source, identified elsewhere as Igor Danchenko, by December 2016, according to the document.

Read the full story

Lindsey Graham: Memo Shows FBI Lied to Senate About Dossier Source

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday released an FBI memo from 2018 that he says shows investigators lied to the Senate about statements that the primary source for the Steele dossier told the FBI regarding the salacious document.

“This document clearly shows that the FBI was continuing to mislead regarding the reliability of the Steele dossier,” Graham said in a statement announcing the release of an eight-page briefing document that the FBI provided to the Senate Intelligence Committee in February 2018.

Read the full story

FBI Refuses to Disclose Records on Source Who Undermined Steele Dossier

The FBI is refusing to release documents related to the primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele, saying in response to a public records request that the information is classified and risks identifying a confidential FBI source.

The source, whose identity remains a mystery, holds key information that could shed light on apparent inaccuracies in Steele’s dossier, which the FBI cited extensively in applications for surveillance orders against Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Read the full story

Declassified Intelligence Report Shows FBI Withheld Key Details About Steele Dossier

FBI officials left key details about former British spy Christopher Steele and his infamous dossier out of a newly declassified Intelligence Community Assessment regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The two-page document, which Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified this week, describes Steele’s allegations about possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian government. It says that an FBI source — Steele — had provided information thought to be credible regarding Russia’s goals in meddling in the election.

Read the full story

FBI Offered to Pay Christopher Steele ‘Significantly’ to Dig up Dirt on Michael Flynn

An FBI offer to pay former British spy Christopher Steele to collect intelligence on Michael Flynn in the weeks before the 2016 election has been one of the more overlooked revelations in a Justice Department inspector general’s report released in December.

The reference to the FBI proposal, which was made in an Oct. 3, 2016, meeting in an unidentified European city, has received virtually no press attention. But it might have new significance following the recent release of government documents that show that Steele peddled an unfounded rumor that Flynn had an extramarital affair with a Russian woman in the United Kingdom.

Read the full story

AG Barr: Mueller ‘Ignored’ Evidence of Russian Disinformation in Steele Dossier

Attorney General William Barr said in an interview aired Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigators “ignored” evidence of possible Russian disinformation in the Steele dossier.

“I think that’s one of the most troubling aspects of this whole thing,” Barr told CBS News when asked about the possibility that the Kremlin fed disinformation to Christopher Steele, a former British spy who investigated the Trump campaign.

Read the full story

House Republicans Want Nellie Ohr’s Oppo Research of Trump’s Family: Report

by Chuck Ross   House Republicans are reportedly seeking documents from former Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr related to her research into President Donald Trump’s family, including his wife and children. During a congressional interview Oct. 19, 2018, Ohr said while she worked for Fusion GPS, the firm behind the infamous Steele dossier, she compiled open-source research on the travels and business activities of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Trump’s wife, Melania. “I was asked to research Trump’s family broadly in connection with any — any Russian connections,” Ohr told a Republican staffer during her interview. “Were you doing independent research based off of each family member?” the staffer asked. “I did some,” said Ohr, a Russia linguist. “As I recall, I did some research on all of them, but not into much depth.” Asked about her research into Trump Jr., Ohr said “I looked into some of his travels” in order to “see whether they were involved in dealings and transactions with people who had had suspicious pasts.” House Republicans are requesting Ohr’s investigative files, according to Fox News, citing two sources familiar with the matter. They want to know how the information on Trump’s family was used in the Fusion…

Read the full story

Barr: ‘Very Unusual’ for FBI to Rely on Steele Dossier Given ‘Clear Mistakes’

by Chuck Ross   Attorney General William Barr said in an interview that aired Friday that he is investigating what role the Steele dossier played in the Russia probe, and that the salacious document had “a number of clear mistakes.” “It’s a very unusual situation to have opposition research like that, especially one that on its face had a number of clear mistakes and a somewhat jejune analysis,” Barr told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer. “And to use that to conduct counterintelligence against an American political campaign is a strange — would be strange development.” In the interview, Barr spoke at length about an inquiry he launched at the Justice Department into the origins of the Russia investigation. He told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the investigation is also focusing on what information U.S. intelligence agencies gathered on Trump campaign associates before the FBI formally opened its investigation in July 2016. The FBI relied heavily on the Steele dossier, which was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign, to obtain surveillance warrants against Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser. But Republicans have accused the FBI of misleading the surveillance court by relying on the dossier given that its…

Read the full story

Commentary: Did Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS, the Clinton Campaign, and the DNC Make Up the Russia Collusion Hoax?

by Robert Romano   “This is probably done in conjunction with Fusion GPS that was making this stuff up, they conveniently were able to get this into the FBI, willing takers at the FBI, and this was all to dirty up the Trump campaign. I mean, I have to say, you can’t make this stuff up, but… that’s exactly what they did.” That was Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Devin Nunes’ (R-Calif.) reaction in an interview with John Batchelor on May 9, who asked him about a report from The Hill’s John Solomon that details a meeting former British spy Christopher Steele — author of the false allegation paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign that President Donald Trump was a Russian agent — had with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec on Oct. 11, 2016. The meeting was memorialized in a memo Kavalec typed up afterward, and cast serious doubts on some of the allegations Steele was making, as well as his credibility. According to Kavalac, Steele was “keen to see this information come to light prior to November 8” to have an impact on 2016 election. The documents came from a Freedom of Information Act…

Read the full story

Analysis: The Steele Dossier and the ‘Raw Intelligence’ Canard

by Chuck Ross   Defenders of the FBI’s activities during the 2016 campaign have adopted a familiar refrain over the past 28 months to describe the Steele dossier, that infamous document that served as a road map for the conspiracy theory that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. “It’s raw intelligence,” according to countless politicos and pundits, including CNN contributor Asha Rangappa, Democratic Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, former CIA executive John Sipher and numerous other commentators. The spy term, which describes information directly from a source that has not been fully analyzed, is intended to downplay the dossier’s significance to the collusion narrative. Christopher Steele, the dossier author, gathered his intelligence from a trusted network of sources, the argument goes, and provided it to seasoned investigators to analyze. But the charitable defense faces new challenges, especially in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report. The problem with the “raw intelligence” canard is that it ignores questions about how Steele obtained his information and what the former spy did with it once he received it. The FBI also treated Steele’s allegations as more than mere raw intelligence. The bureau relied heavily on Steele’s work, even though it was unverified, to obtain spy…

Read the full story

Commentary: Former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes Claims Obama Knew Nothing About the FBI Investigation and Spying on Trump in 2016

by Robert Romano   “We learned about it when it was in the report that was appended to the report to Congress at the end of the administration.” That was former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes speaking to PJ Media’s Nicholas Ballasy on April 25 at Georgetown University promoting his new memoir of his time in the Obama administration, denying that the White House had any knowledge prior to Jan. 5, 2017 of the dossier by former British spy Christopher Steele that was commissioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign that was utilized by the Justice Department to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant in Oct. 2016 to spy on the Trump campaign. It had that alleged President Donald Trump was a Russian agent and that the Trump campaign had coordinated the DNC hacking and putting its emails onto Wikileaks with Russia. Those were crimes, we now know from the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report to Attorney General William Barr, which were never committed. Per Mueller, “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”…

Read the full story

Portman Resists Lindsey Graham’s Call for New Special Counsel to Investigate FBI

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and other Republicans are calling for an investigation, and possibly the appointment of a new special counsel, into the FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign. Graham told reporters on Monday that he wants to investigate the surveillance warrants obtained by the FBI against Carter Page, an adviser to the Trump campaign, which were ultimately used to wiretap Page. The warrants, however, were granted partially based on material contained in the infamous and uncorroborated “dossier” produced by Christopher Steele. Graham and his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee want to get to the bottom of the matter, and determine if the warrants were used as “a back-door to spy on the campaign.” “Whether or not it’s illegal, I don’t yet know,” Graham said. “What makes no sense to me is that all of the abuse by the Department of Justice and the FBI—the unprofessional conduct, the shady behavior—nobody seems to think that’s much important. Well that’s going to change, I hope.” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), however, told The Columbus Dispatch that he opposes calls to have Attorney General William Barr appoint a new special counsel to investigate what Graham called “the other side of the story.” Portman…

Read the full story

Commentary: Brennan the Menace

by Julie Kelly   John Brennan was nervous. Under intense questioning by Representative Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) in May 2017, Brennan squirmed and stammered and twirled his pen as Gowdy demanded to know why the former CIA chief concluded in mid-2016 that the Trump campaign was conspiring with the Russians to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election. “I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that, um, revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the, uh, Trump campaign that, um, I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals and it, uh, raised questions in my mind, again, whether or not the Russians were able to gain cooperation of those individuals,” Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee. He rambled on: “I don’t know whether or not such ‘collusion,’”—Brennan used air quotes—”and that’s your term, existed. I don’t know. But I know there was a sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the [FBI] to determine whether or not U.S. persons were actively conspiring, colluding with Russian officials.” Not exactly a convincing explanation—and Gowdy was having none of it. It was clear that Gowdy, who left office…

Read the full story

Commentary: Senator John McCain’s Key Role in Fueling the Post-Election Trump-Russia Hysteria

by Julie Kelly   In his 2018 book, The Restless Wave, the late Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) wondered aloud why he was sought out and given the infamous Steele dossier shortly after the 2016 presidential election. After suggesting that anyone who questioned his role in handling the political document was indulging in “conspiracy theories,” McCain offered his explanation: “The answer is too obvious for the paranoid to credit. I am known internationally to be a persistent critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime and I have been a long while.” It is true that McCain was an outspoken critic of Putin. But the big problem with McCain’s defense is that by the time he wrote those words—presumably the end of 2017, since the book was published in late May 2018—it already was public knowledge that the dossier had been authored and distributed by political pimps funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. When McCain was writing his book, many of the culprits were in serious legal jeopardy. Christopher Steele, the dossier’s author, was being sued for defamation and was under congressional scrutiny in 2017. (McCain had sent his close associate, David Kramer, to meet Steele in London shortly after the 2016 election to…

Read the full story

Christopher Steele’s Deposition Shows How Little Research He Did on Dossier Target

by Chuck Ross   Christopher Steele acknowledged in a July 2018 court deposition that he relied on a “random” article posted to a CNN website as part of his research for his infamous dossier. In the July 13, 2018, deposition, Steele was asked about the research he did into Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian tech executive who Steele accused of hacking into Democrats’ computer systems. According to a transcript of Steele’s deposition unsealed Thursday, Gubarev’s lawyer asked Steele what information he had gathered on Gubarev or his companies, Webzilla and XBT Holdings. Gubarev sued Steele and BuzzFeed News for defamation for publishing what he claims are false allegations that he hacked Democrats. Steele responded to the lawyer, Evan Fray-Witzer, by citing a July 28, 2009, article published at CNN’s iReports website. Fray-Witzer pointed out to Steele that CNN’s iReports articles “are nothing more than any random person posting things on the Internet.” Steele said he was not aware of that. “No, I, obviously, presume that if it is on a CNN site that it has some kind of CNN status. Albeit that it may be an independent person posting on the site,” said Steele, who admitted the iReports article was the…

Read the full story

Andrew McCabe Defends FBI’s Use Of Steele Dossier, Confidential Informant In Trump-Russia Probe

by Chuck Ross   Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is defending the FBI’s reliance on the Steele dossier as well as the bureau’s use of a confidential informant to make contact with the Trump campaign as part of an investigation into possible collusion with Russia. In an interview as part of a recent book tour, McCabe disputed Republicans’ claims that the FBI misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court about aspects of the dossier in applications warrants to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. And in his book, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, McCabe defended the use of an informant who appears to be Stefan Halper, a longtime FBI and CIA informant who cozied up to Page and two other Trump advisers, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos, during the 2016 campaign. “I do believe that we adequately notified the FISA Court of the information we were using, and what we thought of the information,” McCabe told New York Times reporter Adam Goldman in an interview that aired on C-SPAN on Saturday. McCabe, who was fired from the FBI on March 16, 2018, said that the bureau’s applications for FISA warrants…

Read the full story

Emails: Jake Tapper Tore Into ‘Irresponsible’ BuzzFeed Editor for Publishing the ‘Steele Dossier’

by Chuck Ross   After BuzzFeed published the infamous Steele dossier, CNN anchor Jake Tapper lit into BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith for the decision, calling it “irresponsible” and “uncollegial,” according to emails released Friday. “I think your move makes the story less serious and credible[.] I think you damaged its impact,” Tapper wrote to Smith on Jan. 10, 2017, just after BuzzFeed published the dossier in full on its website. The emails were released in response to a federal judge’s order to unseal documents from a lawsuit against BuzzFeed, which was sued in February 2017 by a Russian businessman who was accused in the dossier of being a Russian agent. Lawyers for the Russian, Aleksej Gubarev, picked out the Tapper-Smith exchange in hopes of showing BuzzFeed failed to do its due diligence before publishing the dossier, which was funded by Democrats and compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. BuzzFeed noted in its initial report that the dossier remained unverified. Smith defended the decision to publish the document on the grounds that numerous policymakers, government officials and journalists were aware of its salacious rumors, which included that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to win the 2016 election. Tapper was seemingly upset…

Read the full story

Commentary: James (Comey) and the Giant Impeachment

by Julie Kelly   For those concerned that former FBI Director James Comey is suffering from early dementia, have no fear: His memory returned with a vengeance during a Sunday night interview with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. On Friday, under questioning by House Judiciary Committee members, Comey answered, “I don’t know,” “I don’t recall,” or “I don’t remember” nearly 250 times during a six-hour closed-door hearing. His memory lapse included critical details like how the infamous Steele dossier reached his agency; who at the FBI drafted the initiation document to investigate the Trump campaign; who at the FBI had authority to open a counterintelligence probe into a presidential campaign; and his own comments about the tarmac meeting between his boss, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and former president Bill Clinton. He said he didn’t know what the word “insidious” meant and couldn’t explain the difference between collusion and conspiracy. But perhaps Comey loaded up on ginseng over the weekend because his vague and convenient memory miraculously returned when he was questioned by a fawning Wallace at a 92nd Street Y event just two days later. Tiny details about dates, locations, meeting participants and a funny moment during a briefing with President…

Read the full story

Commentary: The Incorrigible Mr. Comey

by Julie Kelly   As I wrote last week, the Republican Congress largely has failed to hold accountable the masterminds behind the biggest political scandal in U.S. history: The unprecedented weaponization of our law enforcement and intelligence apparatus to spy on a presidential campaign and sabotage an incoming administration. The man primarily responsible for executing the scheme, former FBI Director James Comey, exited the Trump Administration as a martyr and a hero. Republican lawmakers blasted the president for his (totally justified) firing of the deceptive FBI director in May 2017, lauding his public service and reputation even as the disturbing details of the way his agency spied on the Trump campaign and hid the probe from Congress were coming into view. After successfully escaping any accountability for his actions, it’s no surprise that Comey now is threatening to thwart Congress once again. On Thanksgiving morning, Comey responded on Twitter to a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee: “Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a ‘closed door’ thing because I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let’s have a hearing and invite everyone…

Read the full story

A Senate Democrat Reportedly Outsourced Parts of the Trump-Russia Probe to Operative Linked to Soros, Fusion GPS

by Chuck Ross   A Democratic senator outsourced parts of the investigation into possible Trump-Russia collusion to a former Senate staffer with links to George Soros and Fusion GPS, according to a New Yorker report. The New Yorker reports the unidentified senator contacted Daniel Jones, a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer, around March 2017 to review data regarding a possible link between the computer servers of the Trump Organization and a Russian bank called Alfa Bank. Jones, who worked under California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein when she chaired the intelligence panel, had just formed a non-profit group called the Democracy Integrity Project. The organization worked closely with Fusion GPS and former British spy Christopher Steele, the tag-team duo that produced the Democrat-funded dossier accusing the Trump campaign of colluding with the Kremlin. Jones’s operation was also funded by a small group of billionaires, including left-wing philanthropist George Soros. Jones told the FBI in March 2017 that between 7 and 10 billionaires had put up $50 million to continue an investigation into Russian meddling in elections. Jones also told the FBI that he had secured the services of Steele and Fusion GPS “to continue exposing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.” The goal…

Read the full story

Trump Dossier Research Chief Glenn Simpson Declines US Congress Interview Request

Reuters   The Republican chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Friday subpoenaed a U.S. research firm founder to give a deposition on his hiring of a former British spy to compile a dossier on alleged links between U.S. President Donald Trump’s associates and Russia. Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia, announced the move on Twitter a day after receiving a letter in which lawyers for Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, said that their client “will not agree to an interview” requested earlier this week. “As part of our joint investigation into decisions made by DOJ in 2016, today I subpoenaed Glenn Simpson to appear for a deposition,” Goodlatte posted on Twitter. Goodlatte said in a separate Twitter post that former FBI Director James Comey, former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other former Justice Department officials have been invited “as witnesses. Will subpoena them if necessary.” Simpson’s lawyers also sent their letter to House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy, who is conducting with Goodlatte a probe into the Justice Department’s decision to investigate possible collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The top Democrats on the committees, Elijah Cummings and Jerrold Nadler, in a statement…

Read the full story

Nellie Ohr To Testify Before Congress About Work For Fusion GPS

by Chuck Ross   Congress will interview Nellie Ohr, the wife of Department of Justice official Bruce Ohr, later this week, Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe said on Sunday. Ratcliffe said Sunday that Ohr is expected to appear for a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary and House Oversight & Government Reform Committees, in an interview on Fox News. Ohr worked during the 2016 election cycle for Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that investigated Donald Trump on behalf of the Clinton campaign and DNC. Fusion hired former British spy Christopher Steele, the author of the infamous anti-Trump dossier that was used to obtain spy warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. While she worked for Fusion, Ohr’s husband, Bruce Ohr, was in contact with both Steele and Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS. A former assistant deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, Bruce Ohr was interviewed by the congressional committees on Aug. 28. Republican lawmakers have questioned the Ohrs’ relationship to Fusion GPS and Steele. The husband-and-wife duo met with Steele on July 30, 2016, a day before the FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia. Nellie Ohr began working for Fusion…

Read the full story