- Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:39 am
#106744
A collection of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr's emails, texts and handwritten notes, reveals that he was deeply connected to the unverified Steele dossier as well as its author and, during the presidential election campaign, the alleged government surveillance abuses involving a Trump campaign official.
Ohr wrote that Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy who wrote the salacious dossier, was "very concerned (abt) about [former FBI Director James] Comey's firing -- afraid they will be exposed."
The dossier, which was used by federal officials to justify the surveillance of a top Trump aide, Carter Page, was created by Fusion GPS and paid for by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
The Ohr documents shed more light on Steele's activities before the presidential election. While Steele shopped the dossier to multiple media outlets, he also appeared to ask Ohr for help with a Russian oligarch -- Oleg Deripaska -- after rumors the U.S. might impose sanctions.
Ohr had a conflict of interest during the presidential campaign and transition, congressional investigators say, because his wife Nellie worked for Fusion GPS. Steele, an ex-British spy, was a key source cited by the FBI and Department of Justice to obtain a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant to monitor Page.