Friday, August 31, 2018

Steele told DOJ official Russia thought it had 'Trump over a barrel'

Department of Justice official Bruce Ohr reportedly told lawmakers during a private interview this week that former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele told him that Russian intelligence officials believed "They had [President] Trump over a barrel."

The AP noted that it's unclear if Steele had received the statement on Trump directly from Russian officials, or from his contacts.

Steele is the former British spy who compiled the controversial dossier that alleged ties between Trump and Russia.

Ohr also reportedly told lawmakers that Steele told him former Trump campaign aide Carter Page had met with higher-ranking Russian officials than he has previously stated.

Page, in a text to The Hill, pointed to a tweet he wrote about the report, in which he slammed the DOJ as "Corrupt" and charged it with being a co-conspirator with the Democratic National Committee and Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that funded the dossier compiled by Steele.

The DOJ official also reportedly said during the interview that he did not inform his superiors in the department about the meeting because he considered Steele's information to be raw source material.

House Republicans departing the private interview with Ohr on Tuesday told reporters the DOJ official's statements suggested the FBI knew more information than was included on the FISA warrant application.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/404562-doj-official-testified-that-steele-said-russia-had-trump-over-a

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