Investigate ex-mi6 spy for ‘lies’ about president, say senators
Ben Riley-smith
Rozina Sabur
THE former British spy who compiled a dossier of lurid claims against Donald Trump should be criminally investigated, two powerful Republican senators have demanded.
The congressmen argued that Christopher Steele, who used to work for MI6, had lied about his contacts with journalists regarding the dossier when interviewed by federal investigators.
The demand came in a letter from the senators to the Justice Department – the first known criminal referral from Congress over the Russian election meddling scandal. It raises the possibility that Mr Steele, who lives in Britain, could be criminally charged, though any decision would be taken by the Justice Department itself.
The two senators who made the request are Charles E Grassley, chairman of the judiciary committee, and Lindsey Graham, a member of that committee. It was unclear exactly what Mr Steele said that the senators judged to have been misleading. He was reportedly interviewed by investigators last year.
Mr Steele went into hiding a year ago when he was revealed as the author of a document detailing salacious allegations about Mr Trump, which was circulating before the election. It has since emerged that the dossier was partfunded by the Democratic Party, making it a target for Republicans who want to angle the Russia investigation away from Mr Trump. Fusion GPS, a company which helped produce the dossier, suggested the move was an attempt to “discredit government sources” during a criminal investigation.
In a separate development, US media reported that Mr Trump tried to stop his attorney general from formally stepping away from the investigation into Russian election meddling.
The president told a White House lawyer to stop Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the inquiry because of ties to Russia and the Trump campaign, it was claimed. The New York Times and The Washington Post both reported the claim, which raises questions about why Mr Trump wanted to keep a close associate involved in the investigation.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice declined to comment on the reports.