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.
Muslim groups, other leaders demand Abbott rescind CAIR’s ‘terrorist’ designation: ‘Defamatory’
Rep. Swalwell sues Trump official over mortgage fraud allegations: ‘A gross abuse of power’
Roblox CEO calls child predator crisis an ‘opportunity’ amid ban of gamer who exposed groomers on platform
Miami woman allegedly slices boyfriend with machete after restaurant fight over infidelity
‘Zizian’ ringleader accuses Trump admin of transgender ‘genocide’ in courtroom tirade
DHS says four House Democrats ‘chose to stand with criminal illegal aliens’ after visiting ICE detainee
Navy sailor dies after rescuing 2 children from high surf in Hawaii waters
Parents/Grandparents Alert: Christmas AI Teddy Bears Can Teach Kids About Bondage Sex, How to Light Matches, Where to Find Knives, Pills, Plastic Bags
Fact Check: Did the Trump Administration Declare Nurses Aren’t ‘Professionals’?
NYC Council welcomes new mayor with bill that would dramatically raise salaries for city officials
Taliban vows to respond after alleged Pakistani strikes rock Afghanistan overnight
Trump Admin to Begin ‘Comprehensive Review’ of Every Refugee Admitted to US Under Biden
Trump, Duffy slam Pritzker’s ‘soft-on-crime policies’ after Chicago woman set on fire on train
Missing Virginia high school coach investigated for child porn and soliciting a minor, police say
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Former Army captain warns Dems’ ‘unpatriotic’ video could spark chaos
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.
