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.
US military conducts strike on another boat carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing 3
New York woman convicted for throwing dynamite at boyfriend, blowing off his hand as he tried to get rid of it
Obama says motive unclear despite manifesto outlining alleged targets in WHCD shooting
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting: Timeline traces how suspect’s alleged cross-country plan unfolded
Wisconsin Dem’s bar laments ‘we almost got free beer day’ for Trump assassination
Full WHCD Shooter Manifesto: He Told Family He Was Willing to Kill ‘Most Everyone’ at Dinner to Get to Trump
The Reasons Why TDS Still Exists Despite Trump’s Historic Wins
Unearthed video reveals Cole Allen as quiet inventor years before alleged bid to assassinate Trump
At Least 4 Christian Farmers Gunned Down in Their Fields by Motorcycle Mounted Islamists in Nigeria
WHCD shooting suspect planned to target Trump officials, manifesto reveals
What to know about Cole Thomas Allen, the Trump dinner shooting suspect
Breaking: WHCD Gunman Manifesto, Social Accounts Found – He Targeted Trump, Was a ‘No Kings’ Rally Attendee
The Good, the Bad, And the Ugly: Inside Swamp’s New Farm Bill
WHCD Gunman Likely Targeted Trump, Trump Admin Officials: Acting AG
Security under scrutiny as WHCD attendees cite inconsistent screening before shooting
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.
