Christopher Steele Referred for Criminal Investigation

from TRU News:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and the committee’s second-ranking Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have referred former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, author of the Fusion GPS dossier on President Donald Trump, for criminal investigation by the FBI and Justice Department.

The referral and accompanying evidence submitted to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray are classified and were delivered via the Senate Security Office, meaning their contents aren’t readily known. Grassley’s office would only say the referral is with regard to “false statements investigators have reason to believe Steele made about the distribution of claims contained in the dossier.”

The top two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have referred former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, author of the Fusion GPS dossier on President Donald Trump, for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and FBI.

The referral is not based on the perceived veracity of the contents of the dossier, but rather statements Steele himself made to investigators about his dealings with dossier and the liberal mainstream media. The referral is not a criminal charge, but rather a request for additional investigation, and is routine whenever the Judiciary Committee comes across evidence a crime may have been committed.

In a statement following the referral, Grassley said:

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. Everyone needs to follow the law and be truthful in their interactions with the FBI. If the same actions have different outcomes, and those differences seem to correspond to partisan political interests, then the public will naturally suspect that law enforcement decisions are not on the up-and-up. Maybe there is some innocent explanation for the inconsistencies we have seen, but it seems unlikely. In any event, it’s up to the Justice Department to figure that out.

Graham said he believes a special counsel is necessary in the case, based on how Steele “conducted himself in distributing information contained in the dossier,” and with how many “stop signs” the Justice Department “ignored in its use of the dossier.” He said he hopes he Justice Department carefully reviews the letter and takes appropriate action.

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