Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence agent who compiled the hoax dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, refuses to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigation into the origins of the Obama administration’s spying on then-candidate Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to Reuters.
A Reuters source close to Steele’s private investigation outfit, Orbis Business Intelligence, said the ex-spy has chosen not to answer questions from Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was recently appointed by Attorney General William Barr to examine the probe’s origins. Reports of Steele’s unwillingness to cooperate with the Justice Department comes days after President Trump gave Barr authority to declassify intelligence materials related to the probe and ordered several law enforcement agencies, including the CIA and FBI to cooperate with Durham’s review.
In 2016, Steele was hired by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS tasked by attorneys for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign to dig up dirt on President Trump. Steele’s dossier was used by the FBI to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to surveil members of the Trump campaign, namely, onetime Trump campaign foreign policy advisor Carter Page. FBI officials did not disclose explicitly to the FISA court that the dossier was paid for by the DNC or the Clinton campaign. However, the bureau did indicate that the document was produced as opposition research.
Groundhog Day and Friday the 13th
Planned Parenthood drops lawsuit challenging Trump administration’s Medicaid cuts
San Francisco uncovers nine secret drug and gambling dens disguised as convenience stores
Dozens of House Republicans Demand Mitch McConnell ‘Stop Stalling the SAVE Act’
Jeffries says GOP ‘done eff’d up in Texas,’ vows they won’t win five seats: ‘They can’t ignore it’
Chuck Schumer Lambasted After Comparing the SAVE Act to Jim Crow
Trump administration blocked from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians
BREAKING: Under Threat of Criminal Contempt, Bill and Hillary Clinton Have Agreed to Testify in House’s Jeffrey Epstein Probe
Donations surge for fallen NY officer and new mom following tragic death at hands of DWI suspect
Clinton Judge Releases Boy, 5, and His Father from ICE Detention, Makes Mistake So Bad on Order This May Be the First Time It’s Ever Recorded
Clintons agree to testify after House threatens contempt in Jeffrey Epstein probe
LAPD Chief Refuses to Enforce Gavin Newsom’s Crackdown on ICE Agents: ‘It Doesn’t Make Any Sense’
House GOP majority shrinks to just one vote as Johnson swears in new House Democrat
Trump and India PM Modi Reach Historic Trade Agreement, Includes Ending Importation of Russian Oil
Grammys blasted as ‘anti-China political tool’ after Dalai Lama wins audiobook award
In a recent interview with the Fox News Channel, Barr said his department is examining if “government officials abused their power and put their thumb on the scale” at the start of the FBI’s counterintelligence operation.
“I’ve been trying to get answers to the questions, and I’ve found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate, and some of the explanations I’ve gotten don’t hang together. In a sense, I have more questions today than when I first started,” the attorney general told anchor Bill Hemmer.
“The source close to Steele’s company said Steele would not cooperate with Durham’s probe but might cooperate with a parallel inquiry by the Justice Department’s Inspector General into how U.S. law enforcement agencies handled pre-election investigations into both Trump and Clinton,” according to Reuters.
Story cited here.
