Here comes the House Judiciary Committee ready to subpoena those who worked on the Steele Dossier findings. It falls under lets determine there was no Russian interference because Hillary’s group may at one point have paid for some of research on the Dossier. But it was funded initially by a Republican candidate running for President.
GOP chairman readies Steele dossier subpoenas
© Greg Nash
The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is readying subpoenas for people connected to the controversial “Steele” dossier, sources tell The Hill.
Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) is preparing subpoenas for Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, his wife Nellie Ohr and Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, according to two congressional sources familiar with the matter.
The committee will also go after other current and former FBI and DOJ officials including Jim Baker, Sally Moyer, Jonathan Moffa and George Toscas, the sources said.
Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told The Hill that Goodlatte has been in touch with the DOJ about seeking testimonies from these officials.
A Republican House Judiciary Committee aide confirmed to The Hill they plan to seek such interviews.
“We plan to interview the people [mentioned] in the coming weeks and we will issue subpoenas to compel their attendance if necessary,” the aide said.
Goodlatte could issue the orders as early as this week as part of his panel’s joint investigation with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is examining FBI and DOJ decision-making during the 2016 presidential election.
Bruce Ohr has come under Republican scrutiny for his contacts with Simpson and former British spy Christopher Steele during the presidential campaign, a revelation that sparked demands from Trump allies for a special counsel investigation into the DOJ and the FBI last December.
Simpson hired Steele to help compile the controversial dossier that made a series of salacious allegations about President Trump’s ties to Russia.
Ohr’s wife Nellie worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 election, which Republicans have seized on as a possible connection that links the opposition research firm and the Justice Department.
The matter became a major flashpoint among conservatives when it was revealed that the Clinton campaign had funded some of the research included in the dossier.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), when asked about the matter, broadly replied that Congress needs to “be talking to Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr."
Jordan said it was “crazy” that federal officials would be having contacts with individuals working at an opposition research firm that was digging up dirt on the Republican presidential nominee.
The FBI used Steele as a source in their application to obtain a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, according to the heavily redacted FISA application released by the DOJ last month.
