Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, seen at left, and Sen.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recommended the DOJ and FBI investigate the author of
the anti-Trump dossier. (Reuters)
Two top Republican senators have formally recommended
that the Justice Department and FBI investigate the author of the controversial
anti-Trump “dossier,” in the first known criminal referral from Congress as
part of lawmakers’ Russia probes.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley,
R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., made the referral in a Jan. 4-dated
letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher
Wray.
The move ramps up congressional Republicans’ investigation of the
salacious document and those involved in creating it, as Special Counsel Robert
Mueller continues to probe Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible
collusion with Trump associates.
The dossier was authored by former British intelligence
agent Christopher Steele, who was hired by opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
In their brief letter, the GOP lawmakers cited potential violations for false
statements “the Committee has reason to believe Mr. Steele made regarding his
distribution of information contained in the dossier.”
They cited Steele's communications with “multiple U.S.
news outlets.”
“I don’t take lightly making a referral for criminal
investigation. But, as I would with any credible evidence of a crime unearthed
in the course of our investigations, I feel obliged to pass that information
along to the Justice Department for appropriate review,” Grassley said in
a statement.
Their letter cited potential violations of a section of
the criminal code pertaining to making false statements or concealing facts. A
committee tweet said investigators had reviewed material that revealed
"significant inconsistencies in statements provided to
authorities."
In a written statement, Graham went a step further and
said he believes a special counsel should review the matter, given "how
Mr. Steele conducted himself in distributing information contained in the
dossier and how many stop signs the DOJ ignored in its use of the
dossier."
The committee has been probing the dossier’s origin for
months.
Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson met with the staff of
the Senate Judiciary Committee behind closed doors for 10 hours in August. At
the time, a Fusion GPS lawyer said Simpson “cleared the record on many matters
of interest.”
Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was asked to consider an investigation of the
Trump dossier author. (AP)
But tensions flared this week when GPS founders Simpson
and Peter Fritsch accused congressional Republicans in a New York Times op-ed
of refusing to release testimony to the public, and leaking certain details to
friendly outlets.
Grassley responded by saying an invitation for the
research company to testify in public remains “on the table.”
The New York Times first reported on Grassley and
Graham’s referral on Friday.
The Times reported that the senators claim Steele may
have lied to federal authorities specifically about his contacts with reporters
regarding the dossier contents. The Times said the referral is likely based on
newly obtained reports of Steele's meetings with the FBI.
Democrats fired back at the senators’ move. Sen. Richard
Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement: “Sadly, the first major action taken
by the Republican majority on the Judiciary Committee seems to be aimed at
someone who reported wrongdoing, rather than committed it.”
The unverified dossier was first published by BuzzFeed
News in January 2017.
Republicans have been investigating whether the dossier
fueled the original Russia probe and helped justify surveillance on Trump
associates.
They were emboldened after the revelation that the project got
funding from the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this
report.
