PUBLISHED TO
Donald Trump has been all in on the effort to force Department of
Justice attorney Bruce Ohr out of the government, though the only thing
Ohr appears to have “done wrong” is doing his job as an expert in Russia and Russian organized crime.
As part of that job, Ohr met with former British intelligence officer
and fellow Russia expert Christopher Steele. Earlier this week, Ohr was
pulled in to testify in a closed session with House staffers to describe
the first meeting he held with Steele concerning information related to
Trump and Russia. As the Associated Press reports, what Ohr learned from Steele goes to the heart of … everything.
If Trump was willing to make that kind of investment to hide generic moments of infidelity, what might he be willing to surrender over a story that tied him to much more … colorful behavior? Especially if that accusation of distasteful bedroom activity came complete with photographs or video?
Republicans in the House have been continually pushing the idea that the FBI relied too much on Steele’s memos in launching the Russia investigation. Trump put Ohr on the list of those targeted to lose their security clearance and has been pushing to have him kicked out of the DOJ. And there’s a good reason they’re afraid of them both.
The ease with which Trump could be rolled isn’t the only information Steele had to share. Republicans have pressed the idea that Steele’s dossier was the start of the Russia investigation, and that the contents were critical to obtaining a FISA warrant against Trump adviser Carter Page. Neither of those claims is true. The investigation was already underway before Steele talked with Ohr or anyone else at the DOJ or FBI, and Page had already been the subject of FISA warrants before Steele’s information was added to the pool.
While Ohr agreed to meet with Steele at a point where it was already known that Russian hackers had stolen information from the DNC and the investigation was already underway based on information passed along about the actions of Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, the breakfast meeting has already harmed Ohr’s career. In December 2017, Ohr was stripped of his associate deputy attorney post as part of a “planned internal reorganization” after officials told him they were unhappy about the meeting. Ohr was also told he would be removed from his position directing the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force because the job entails “White House meetings and interactions.”
Bruce Ohr, an expert on Russian organized crime, has been pushed down in the DOJ and pushed out of his roles in the agency because he met with someone offering information … on Russian organized crime and an effort to interfere in a United States election. And Donald Trump is still pushing to demean and silence Ohr.
Among the things Ohr said he learned from Steele during the breakfast was that an unnamed former Russian intelligence official had said that Russian intelligence believed “they had Trump over a barrel,” according to people familiar with the meeting.In his closed interview on Tuesday, Ohr detailed his what he learned in this initial breakfast meeting with Steele, including information he didn’t immediately pass along to the FBI because he considered it “raw source material.” The information from British researcher and former operative Steele has always included the idea that the Russian held “kompromat” on Donald Trump that could be used to blackmail him into taking action to support Russia. Trump has been dismissive of the idea, but the recent revelations about Michael Cohen and Trump’s actions regarding Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, and the National Enquirer demonstrate just how open to blackmail Trump really is. At the very least, Trump was willing to part with hundreds of thousands of dollars just to keep a pair of stories out of the news. And those were straightforward stories of affairs that Trump claims didn’t occur and for which neither of the women involved seemed to be offering evidence beyond their word.
If Trump was willing to make that kind of investment to hide generic moments of infidelity, what might he be willing to surrender over a story that tied him to much more … colorful behavior? Especially if that accusation of distasteful bedroom activity came complete with photographs or video?
Republicans in the House have been continually pushing the idea that the FBI relied too much on Steele’s memos in launching the Russia investigation. Trump put Ohr on the list of those targeted to lose their security clearance and has been pushing to have him kicked out of the DOJ. And there’s a good reason they’re afraid of them both.
The ease with which Trump could be rolled isn’t the only information Steele had to share. Republicans have pressed the idea that Steele’s dossier was the start of the Russia investigation, and that the contents were critical to obtaining a FISA warrant against Trump adviser Carter Page. Neither of those claims is true. The investigation was already underway before Steele talked with Ohr or anyone else at the DOJ or FBI, and Page had already been the subject of FISA warrants before Steele’s information was added to the pool.
While Ohr agreed to meet with Steele at a point where it was already known that Russian hackers had stolen information from the DNC and the investigation was already underway based on information passed along about the actions of Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, the breakfast meeting has already harmed Ohr’s career. In December 2017, Ohr was stripped of his associate deputy attorney post as part of a “planned internal reorganization” after officials told him they were unhappy about the meeting. Ohr was also told he would be removed from his position directing the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force because the job entails “White House meetings and interactions.”
Bruce Ohr, an expert on Russian organized crime, has been pushed down in the DOJ and pushed out of his roles in the agency because he met with someone offering information … on Russian organized crime and an effort to interfere in a United States election. And Donald Trump is still pushing to demean and silence Ohr.
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