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.
Judge temporarily blocks Trump order ending collective bargaining rights for most federal workers
Prominent Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre dies by suicide
Virginia Giuffre, Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew accuser, dead at 41 by suicide: report
Ex-New Mexico judge, wife tried to hide evidence of illegal alien gangbanger, DOJ prosecutors say
JD Vance Has Perfect One-Line Response to Democrats Freaking Out About Arrest of Wisconsin Judge
States warned federal funding is in jeopardy if illegal immigrants are collecting unemployment benefits
Wisconsin judge’s arrest blasted by Democrats who previously claimed ‘no one is above the law’ in Trump cases
Nancy Mace torches Clemson University over 15-gender menu: ‘Not on my watch’
Senator joins group of far-left lawmakers who think Trump has — again — committed impeachable offenses
Hegseth signs ‘No More Walking on Eggshells’ policy, demands review of equal opportunity complaint process
Russian general killed in car bombing as Trump envoy meets with Putin
NFL Gets Fan Backlash for Kicking Off Draft with a ‘Woke’ Stunt
Pam Bondi Reveals ‘Truly Horrific’ Actions of Wisconsin Judge Arrested by FBI: ‘You’re Not Gonna Believe This’
Pete Hegseth Fired Up After Learning Obesity Rate Among Reserve Troops: ‘FIT, not FAT’
Jon Ossoff says Trump has ‘exceeded any prior standard for impeachment’
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.
