The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended Friday that the Justice Department investigate for possible criminal charges the author of the now-famous dossier alleging the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.
The move by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, marks a major escalation in conservatives’ challenges to the FBI’s credibility as the agency investigates whether any Donald Trump associates committed crimes. Another Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined in the letter to the Justice Department.
Their letter makes what is called a criminal referral to the Justice Department, suggesting it investigate the dossier’s author, former British spy Christopher Steele, for possibly lying to the FBI. It is a crime to lie to FBI agents about a material fact relevant to an ongoing investigation.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post · Devlin Barrett, Tom Hamburger
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