Devin Nunes refers Clinton ally Sidney Blumenthal, others tied to Trump dossier for testimony
| July 05, 2018 10:16 PM
| Updated Jul 05, 2018, 11:10 PM
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., sent another letter Thursday — his third in a week — to two fellow GOP chairmen, referring to them 15 people connected to the Russia investigation for testimony in an "open setting."
Many of the individuals on the list, sent to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., are tied to Hillary Clinton and the infamous Trump dossier, which contains compromising, yet unverified claims about President Trump's ties to Russia. Compiled in 2016, the research effort was conducted by ex-British spy Christopher Steele and was funded in part by Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
[Byron York: What is Devin Nunes up to? House Trump-Russia probe expands as Intel chair focuses on informants]
Glenn Simpson and Thomas Catan, co-founders of Fusion GPS, the opposition research company that commissioned Steele, are included on the list. Also mentioned is Nellie Ohr, wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, whom Republicans in the House Intelligence Committee alleged in a February memo "was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump." Ohr, who according to the GOP memo delivered his wife's research to the FBI, was demoted from his role as associate deputy attorney general late last year after it was discovered he had secret meetings with Simpson and Steele.
Nunes has led an inquiry looking into the genesis of the federal Russia investigation as well as alleged abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to spy on at least one member of the Trump campaign, all the while being panned by his Democratic colleagues. For instance, last week Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN that Nunes was one of the "the four horsemen of this apocalypse," along with Gowdy and Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for their effort to push the DOJ to submit materials "that can be leaked or fed or misrepresented, like the infamous Nunes memorandum, in the service of the president."
The "Nunes memorandum" that Schiff referred to was the memo released by the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee in February alleging the DOJ and FBI sought the authority to spy on Trump campaign aide Carter Page using the infamous Trump dossier. While the GOP memo found that agents failed to disclose to a federal judge that Steele's research had Democratic benefactors, a Democratic rebuttal memo argued that the FBI did tell the judge that Steele was likely looking to "discredit" Trump.
Sidney Blumenthal, a Clinton ally, also was mentioned in Nunes' letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner and first reported by Fox News. A former employee of the Clinton Foundation, Blumenthal shares a controversial history with Clinton, whom he informally advised while she was secretary of state. Earlier this year, Gowdy seemed to suggest Blumenthal was connected to the dossier, allegedly feeding details to a State Department employee during the last months of the Obama administration.
Mark Elias, a lawyer who represented the Clinton campaign and the DNC, makes an appearance on the list. He retained Fusion GPS to complete the opposition research that resulted in the dossier.
Yet another Clinton connection who made the list was Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, whose name is misspelled as "Robbie Mook" in the letter.
The letter Nunes sent to Gowdy and Goodlatte on Thursday is the third one in recent days. He sent one on Friday to Gowdy and Goodlatte, encouraging them to interview 17 current and former Justice Department and FBI officials connected to the Russia investigation. Another was sent Monday in regards to 10 people who served in the White House or State Department under the Obama administration.
All together, Nunes has referred 42 names to Gowdy and Goodlatte, noting these individuals likely fall under the purview of their joint task force.
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Speaking to Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday, Nunes warned that officials risked being subpoenaed should they attempt to dodge testimony.
"They can plead the Fifth," he told host Laura Ingraham. "This isn't going to be like the documents where we've had to continue to fight with the Justice Department in order to have access to documents. This is much different. These are all American citizens. They will, if they do not agree to appear under oath, and testify, then they will be subpoenaed. That I could tell you for sure."
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