A group of Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have been conducting a secret investigation for weeks to search for evidence that top officials at the Justice Department and FBI improperly handled the so-called Trump dossier, Politico reported Wednesday evening, citing four people familiar with the GOP members’ plans.
The band of Republicans are concerned that officials at the Justice Department and FBI worked to hurt President Donald Trump or help his Democratic opponent in 2016, Hillary Clinton, according to Politico.
The group led by Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) has not told Democrats on the committee about their probe but have spoken with the House general counsel about their work, per Politico. It’s not clear how many members of the committee are part of this group, but an aide with knowledge of the meetings told Politico that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is not involved. They are using documents and interviews with former Obama administration officials obtained as part of the committee’s main Russia probe, Politico reported.
News of the secret probe running parallel to the committee’s official Russia investigation comes as Republicans in Congress are increasingly critical of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. Republicans pounced on the revelation that an FBI agent who worked on Mueller’s team sent text messages critical of Trump during the 2016 campaign. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley announced that he would investigate “bias” of the agent who sent those text messages, who was reportedly involved in the FBI’s questioning of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Donald Trump Jr. this week suggested that officials at the FBI have been working against his father. Also this week, two Republican committee chairs in the House asked the Justice Department to make three officials at the FBI available for interviews. The Republicans are seeking information on the decision-making surrounding the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Russia probe.
Read Politico’s full report here.
