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.
Surgeon ex in Ohio dentist murders job hopped across country, dodged lawsuits after divorce
The Redistricting Scheme That Could Help Dems Retake the House
Lawyers Claim Man’s Life ‘Stolen’ By ICE: Turns Out He Shot at an Officer
Professors were disciplined for vulgar posts after Charlie Kirk’s assassination: where are they now?
Russia tries to revive its relevance with support for Iran after failure to fight US moves in Venezuela
Trump vows to ‘take out’ Indiana GOP leader over redistricting fight
Homan Confirms ICE Agent Who Shot Renee Good Is ‘in Hiding’ Amid Rabid Leftist Death Threats
Progressive-backed Analilia Mejia faces uphill battle in bid to replace Mikie Sherrill
Border Patrol commander vows continued tear gas use after Minnesota fedreal judge’s order
Man allegedly assaulted with flagpole by Minneapolis anti-ICE agitators in violent parking garage attack
Tim Walz Gets the Response He Deserves After Suddenly Saying He Wants to ‘Turn the Temperature Down’
Minnesota National Guard placed on standby to support law enforcement as protests turn violent
Illegal migrant workers caught on camera leaping across rooftops to escape Border Patrol in California raid
‘SET UP’: Cohen Accuses Alvin Bragg, Letitia James of Coercing Him to Turn on Trump
Trump Gives Compassionate Response to Renee Good’s Father, Calls Her Likely ‘Wonderful’ Under ‘Normal Circumstances’
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.
