Dems, GOP briefed on source in Russia probe
Briefing was on confidential FBI source who aided in investigation of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia.
Justice Department and intelligence officials briefed top Republican and Democratic lawmakers Thursday on a confidential FBI source who aided in the investigation of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia, attempting to defuse a partisan conflict over use of the source and the FBI’s reluctance to reveal information about the matter.
Reversing its earlier position, the White House allowed top Democrats to join Republicans for two meetings Thursday. Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House lawyer Emmet T. Flood, recently made a point person for the special counsel’s investigation, also were also present for parts of the discussions.
It was not immediately clear whether the Justice Department had provided information that would allay conservatives’ concerns, particularly those of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who has pushed vigorously for information about the FBI’s source.
In a statement after the first meeting, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the intelligence committee had “the responsibility to ask tough questions of the executive branch” and said the Justice Department was cooperating, though he offered no substantive details. He did not attend the second meeting, citing a scheduling conflict.
“I appreciate the Department arranging today’s briefing,” he said. “As always, I cannot and will not comment on a classified session. I look forward to the prompt completion of the intelligence committee’s oversight work in this area now that they are getting the cooperation necessary for them to complete their work while protecting sources and methods.”
The first briefing, which lasted about an hour at the Justice Department, went to Nunes, Ryan, House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Intelligence Committee Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff of California. The second, which lasted slightly longer on Capitol Hill, was to the Gang of Eight, which includes the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, as well as the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees.
President Trump and his conservative allies have made the confidential source the focal point of their latest line of attack against the Russia probe, alleging that the FBI implanted a spy in the Trump campaign for political purposes. The source, Stefan A. Halper, a former University of Cambridge professor and veteran of past GOP administrations, had contact with three advisers to the campaign when Trump was running for president to discuss foreign policy.
Trump tweeted Thursday morning: “Large dollars were paid to the Spy, far beyond normal. Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. SPYGATE - a terrible thing!”
That allegation overstates Halper’s role based on what is known about him so far.
Halper since 2012 has had contracts with the Defense Department, working for a Pentagon think tank called the Office of Net Assessment. According to federal records, ONA has paid Halper more than $1 million for research and development in the social sciences and humanities. He hired other academics and experts to conduct research and prepare reports, U.S. government officials have said.
Initially, no Democrats were slated to be involved at all in the planned discussion about Halper, and then, when two meetings were scheduled, no Democrats were to come to the first. But after more than a day of furious negotiations, both decisions were changed.
Kelly and Flood’s presence was notable, as it contradicted White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s assertion no one from the White House would attend. She did not return a request for comment Thursday. Sanders had also said previously that only Gowdy and Nunes would be briefed and that Democrats had been cut out because they had not asked for the information their Republican counterparts had.
“To my knowledge, the Democrats have not requested that information, so I would refer you back to them on why they would consider themselves randomly invited to see something they’ve never asked to,” Sanders said Tuesday.
Democrats had asserted it was inappropriate that Nunes and Gowdy be granted their own briefing, though that was largely before Schiff was allowed to attend the earlier briefing. In the past, Nunes has refused to sit for briefings with Schiff.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday morning: “While it’s a good thing that the Gang of Eight will be briefed, the separate meeting with a known partisan whose only intent is to undermine the Mueller investigation makes no sense and should be called off. What is the point of the separate briefing if not to cause partisan trouble?” Schumer was apparently referring to Nunes as a “known partisan” and to Robert Mueller, the special counsel now leading the Russia investigation.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the separate briefing “demonstrates that their interest is not in informing Congress, but in undermining an ongoing criminal investigation.”