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.
Mysterious 4-Second Video Posted by Official White House Account Ignites Rampant Speculation
Army Increases Maximum Enlistment Age by 7 Years, Softens Other Restrictions
Fox News poll gives Trump highest disapproval rating across both his terms
Schumer, Democrats say they support voter ID — then block GOP amendment to require it
Trump reveals ‘present’ from Iran as oil tankers move through Strait of Hormuz
Report: Trump Weighing ‘Final Blow’ Options to End Iran War
Ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich says Sheridan Gorman’s killing may have been a ‘gang initiation’
Lawyer for Boston cop facing manslaughter charge in on-duty shooting calls out DA’s ‘unprecedented’ move
Reporter’s Notebook: GOP’s ‘favorite bill’ faces reality check as Senate stalls on SAVE America Act
‘Political Suicide’: Far-Left Podcasters Say Gavin Newsom’s Sudden Israel Support Will End Him
Florida AG Warns NFL Against Race-Based Diversity Hiring
Newsom Claims TPUSA Influencer Is Gay — Just One Month After He Followed Apparent Gay Hooker With Username ‘F***s4Drugs’
24 states back challenge to transgender inmate surgery ruling with nationwide stakes
TSA warns of ‘longstanding’ shutdown fallout even after funding clears, and a major event could make it worse
Key Trump agency unleashes probe on blue state over potential race-based mortgage aid: ‘DEI is dead’
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.
