https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-01-29%20CEG%20to%20FBI%20and%20DOJ%20IG%20(Unclassified%20Cover%20Letter%20on%20Classification%20Review%20of%20Referral).pdf

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments) 

January 29, 2018

VIA CLASSIFIED COURIER

Dear Director Wray and Inspector General Horowitz:

On January 4, 2018, Senator Graham and I sent a classified memo to the Justice Department and the FBI. The eight-page memo referred for further investigation materially inconsistent statements reportedly made by Christopher Steele, the author of the anti-Trump dossier funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign during the 2016 Presidential election.

On January 19, 2018, an FBI Congressional liaison, Greg Brower, sent a letter claiming that a few of the paragraphs marked as unclassified in our memo contained classified information. A copy of Mr. Brower’s classified letter is attached for reference. As I explained in a speech on the Senate floor last week, the FBI’s claims mischaracterize and misstate what those paragraphs actually say.

I intend to formally challenge the FBI’s classification decision with respect to these paragraphs. I also formally request that the entire memo be reviewed and declassified to the greatest extent possible, with minimal redactions if any are necessary to protect information that would legitimately cause harm to national security.

In the meantime, please find attached  redacted copy of the memo intended for public distribution. For now, in an abundance of caution and out of respect for the FBI’s equities, Committee staff have redacted portions of those paragraphs identified by Mr. Brower as allegedly containing classified information. In light of these redactions, the remaining portions of the paragraphs are still marked as unclassified. Additionally, all of the paragraphs we originally marked as being derived from classified information provided to the Committee have been redacted as well. In addition, we have created and attached an unclassified version of Mr. Brower’s January 19, 2018 letter by redacting the classified portions. Please notify the

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

Director Wray and Inspector General Horowitz

January 29, 2018

Page 2 of 3

Committee as soon as possible if the FBI has any additional concerns about these unclassified versions of the memo and letter.

As the Justice Department suggested in its letter to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence regarding its classified memo, I am also addressing this request to Inspector General Michael Horowitz and requesting that his office independently oversee, assess, and report to Congress on (1) the FBI’s reply regarding the public release of the attached redacted memorandum, (2) the declassification process requested in this letter, (3) the classification challenge that I intend to file at a later date regarding the paragraphs identified in Mr. Brower’s January 19, 2018 letter, and (4) the underlying issue raised in the memo.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please contact Patrick Davis of my staff at (202) 224-5225 if you have any questions.

Sincerely, /s/

Charles E. Grassley

Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

cc: The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary

The Honorable Richard Burr
Chairman
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Mark Warner
Vice Chairman
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Devin Nunes
Chairman
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Director Wray and Inspector General Horowitz

January 29, 2018

Page 3 of 3

The Honorable Adam Schiff
Ranking Member
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse

Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Committee on the Judiciary

**********

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-02-06%20CEG%20LG%20to%20DOJ%20FBI%20(Unclassified%20Steele%20Referral).pdf

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (  

January 4, 2018

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

Dear Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray:

Attached please find a classified memorandum related to certain communications between Christopher Steele and multiple U.S. news outlets regarding the so-called “Trump dossier” that Mr. Steele compiled on behalf of Fusion GPS for the Clinton Campaign and the Democratic National Committee and also provided to the FBI.

Based on the information contained therein, we are respectfully referring Mr. Steele to you for investigation o f potential violations o f 18 U.S .C. § 1001, for statements the Committee has reason to believe Mr. Steele made regarding his distribution of information contained in the dossier.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. Ifyou have any questions, please contact Patrick Davis or DeLisa Lay of Chairman Grassley’ s staff at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley                                     Lindsey O. Graham

Chairman                                                Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary                        Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

Enclosure: As stated.

Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray

January 4, 2018

Page 2 of2

Cc The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary

The Honorable Richard Burr
Chairman
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Mark Warner
Vice Chairman
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Devin Nunes
Chairman
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

The Honorable Adam Schiff
Ranking Member
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

MEMORANDUM

(U) FROM; CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Lindsey O. Graham, Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

TO; The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

The Honorable Christopher. A. Wray, Director, Feeral Bureau of Investigation

RE: Referral of Christopher Steele for Potential Violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001

(U) As you know, former British Intelligence Officer Christopher Steele was hired by the private firm Fusion GPS in June 2016 to gather information about links between Russia and [then-presidential candidate] Donald Trump.” E’ 1   Pursunat to that business arrangement, Mr. Steele prepared a series of documents styled as intelligence reports, some of which were later compiled into a ‘dossier’ and published by BuzzFeed in January 2017. Fn 2   On the face of the dossier, it appears that Mr. Steel gathered much of his information from Russian government sources inside Russia. FN3 According to the law firm Perkins Coie, Mr. Steele’s dossier-related efforts were funded through Fusion GPS by that law firm on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton Campaign. FN 4

(U) In response to reporting by the Washington Post about Mr. Steele’s relationship with the FBI relating to this partisan dossier project, the Judiciary Committee began raising a seires of questions to the FBI and the Justice Department about these matters as part of the Committee’s constitutional oversight responsibilities. Fn 5

(U) The FBI has since provided the Committee access to classified documents relevant to the FBI’s relationship with Mr. Steele and whether the FBI relied on his dossier work. As explained in greater detail below, when information in those classified documents is evaluated in light of sworn statements by Mr. Steele in British litigation, it appears that either Mr. Steele lied to the FBI or the British court, orthat the classified documents reviewed by the Committee contain materially false statements.

Fn 1 (U) defence, Gubarev et. Al v Orbis Business Intelligence Limited and Christopher Steele, Claim No. HQ17D00413 , Queen’s Bench (Apr. 4, 2017), para 9 [Hereinafter “ Steele Statement 1”] [Attachment A].

Fn 2 (U)) Id. At para. 10; Ken Bensinger, Miriam Elder, and Mark Schoofs, These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties to Russia, BUZZFEED (Jan. 10, 2017).

Fn 3 (U) Id.

Fn 4 (U) Adam Entous, Devlin Barrett and Rosalind S.. Helderman, Clinton Campaign, DNC Paid for Research that Led to Russia Dossier, THE WASHINGTON POST (Oct. 24, 2017).

Fn 5 (U) Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman, FBI Once Planned to Pay Former British Spy who Authored Controversial Trump Dossier, THE WASHINGTON POST (Feb. 28, 2017).

1

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (

(U) In response to the Committee’s inquiries, the Chairman and Ranking Member received a briefing on March 15, 2017, from then-Director James B. Comey, Jr.

(TS/NF) That briefing addressed the Russia investigation, the FBI’s relationship with Mr. Steele, and the FBI’s reliance on Mr. Steele’s dossier in two applications it filed for surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Then, on March 17, 2017, the Chairman and Ranking Member were provided copies of the two relevant FISA applications, which requested authority to conduct surveillance of Carter Page. Both relied heavily on Mr. Steele’s dossier claims, and both applications were granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). In December of 2017, the Chairman, Ranking Member, and Subcommittee Chairman Graham were allowed to review a total of four FISA applications relying on the dossier to seek surveillance of Mr. Carter Page. As well as numerous other FBI documents relating to Mr. Steele.

(TS/NF) In the March 2017 briefing with then-Director Comey, he stated that [Comey’s statements, approximately 256 characters are blacked out.]

(U) Similarly, in June 2017, former FBI Director Comey testified publicly before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he had briefed President-Elect Trump on the dossier allegations in January 2017, which Mr. Comey described as “salacious” and “unverified.” Fn 6.

(TS/NF) When asked at the March 2017 briefing why the FBI relied on the dossier in the FISA applications absent meaningful corroboration – and in light of the highly political motives surrounding its creation – then-Director Comey stated that the FBI included the dossier allegations about Carter Page in the FISA applications because Mr. Steele himself was considered reliable due to this past work with the Bureau.

(TS/NF) Indeed, the documents we have reviewed show that the FBI took important investigative steps largely based on Mr. Steele’s information and relying heavily on his credibility. Specifically, on October 21, 2016, the FBI filed its first warrant application under FISA for Carter Page. [118 characters are blacked out.] The bulk of the application consists of allegations against Page that were disclosed to the FBI by Mr. Steele and are also outlined in the Steele dossier. The application appears to contain no additional information corroborating the dossier allegations against Mr. Page, although it does cite to a news article that appears to be sourced to Mr. Steele’s dossier as well.

FN 4. (U) Statement of James B. Comey, Ir., Hearing of the U.S. Sen. Select Comm. On Intelligence (June 8, 2017)

TOP SECRET//NOFORN   2

(TS/NF) The FBI discussed the reliability of this unverified information provided byj Mr. Steele in footnotes 8 and 18 of the FISA warrant application. First, the FBI noted to a vaguely limited extent the political origins of the dossier. In footnote 8 the FBI stated the dossier information was compiled pursuant to the direction of a law firm who had hired an “identified U.S. person” – now known as Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS –   [more witness statements and locations and people are blacked out for 170 characters] The applications failed to disclose that the identities of Mr. Simpson’s ultimate clients were the Clinton campaign and the DNC.

( TS/NF) The FBI stated to the FISC that based on [Steele’s] previous reporting history with the FBI, whereby [Steele] provided reliable information to the FBI, the FBI believe [Steele’s] reporting to be credible. In short, it appears the FBI relied on admittedly uncorroborated information, funded by and obtained for Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign, inorder to conduct surveillance of an associate of the opposing presidential candidate. It did so based on Mr. Steele’s personal credibility and presumably having faith in his process of obtaining the information.

(U) But there is substantial evidence suggesting that Mr.Steele materially misled the FBI about a key aspect of his dossier efforts, one which bears on his credibility.

[Herein some 400 characters are blacked out, specific references]

(TS/NF] Yet the FISA applications note the existence of a news article dated September 23, 2016, which in particular contained some of the same dossier information about Mr. Page compiled by Mr. Steele and on which the FBI relied in its application. While not explicitly stated, this is presumably the article by Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News, titled “U.S. Intel Officials Probe Ties Between Trump Adviser and Kremlin.”   [106 characters are blacked out), the application attempts to explain away the inconsistency between Mr. Steele’s assertion to the FBI and the existence of the article, apparently to shiel Mr. Steele’s assertion to the FBI and the existence of the article, apparenty to shield Mr. Steele’s credibility on which it still relied for the renewal request. The application to the FISC said Given that the information contained in the September 23^rd news article generally matches the information about Page that [Steele] discovered doing his/her research [120 characters blacked out]

fr 7 The FBI has failed to provide the Committee the 1023s documenting all of Mr. Steele’s statements to the FBI< so the Committee is relying on the accuracy of the FBI’s representation to the FISC regarding those statements

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (

[30 characters blacked out] The FBI does not believe that [Steele] directly provided this information to the press”   (emphasis added).

(TS/NF) In footnote 9 of its January 2017 application to renew the FiSA warrant for Mr. Page, the FBI again addressed Mr Steele’s credibility. At that time, the FBI noted that it had suspended its relationship with Mr. Steele in October 2016 because of Steele’s “unauthorized disclosure of information to the press.”   The FBI relayed that Steele had been bothered by the FBI’s notification to Congress in October 2016 about the reopening of the Clinton investigation, and as a result “[Steele] independently and against the prior admonishment from the FBI to speak only with the FBI on this matter, released the reporting discussed herein [dossier allegations against Page] to an identified news organization. However, the FBI continued to cite to Mr. Steele’s past work as evidence of his reliability, and stated that “the incident that led to the FBI suspending its relationship with [Mr. Steele] occurred after [Mr. Steele] provided” the FBI with the dossier information described in the application.   The FBI further asserted in footnote 19 that it did not believe that Steele directly gave information to Yahoo News that “published the September 23 News Article.”

(TS/NF)   So, as documented in the FISA renewals, the FBI still seemed to believed (sic) Mr. Steele’s earlier claim that he had only provided the dossier information to the FBI and Fusion – and not to the media – prior to his October media contact that resulted in the FBI suspending the relationship. Accordingly, the FBI still deemed the information he provided prior to the October disclosure to be reliable. After all, the FBI already believed Mr. Steele was reliable he had previously told the FBI he had not shared the information with the press – and lying to the FBI is a crime. In defending Mr. Steele’s credibility to the FISC, the FBI had posited an innocuous explanation for the September 23 article, based on the assumption that Mr. Steele had told the FBI the truth about his press contacts. The FBI then vouched for him twice more, using the same rationale, in subsequent renewal applications filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in April and June 2017.

(U) However, public reports, court filings, and information obtained by the Committee during witness interviews in the course of its ongoing investigation indiate that Mr. Steele not only provided dossier information to the FBI, but also to numerous media organizations prior to the end of his relationship with the FBI in October 2016. Fn 8

(U) In Steele’s sworn court filings in litigation in London, he admitted that he “gave off the record briefings to a small number of journalists about the pre-election memoranda [i.e. the dossier]   in late summer/autumn 2016.” Fn 9 In another sworn filing in that case, Mr. Steele further

FN 8 (U) See Steele Statement I; Defendants’ Response to Claimants’ Request for Further Information Pursuant to CPR Part 18, Gubarev et. Al v. Orbis Business Intelligence Limited and Christopher Steele, Claim No. HQ17D00413, Queen’s Bench (May 18, 2017), [Hereinafter Steele Statement 2] [Attachment B]; Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman, FBI Once Planned to Pay Former British Spy who Authored Controversial Trump Dossier, THE WASHINGTON POST (Feb. 28, 2017); Simpson Transcript, on File with Sen. Comm. On the Judiciary.

FN (U) Steele Statement 1 at para. 32.

_____

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (   4

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (

Stated that journalists from “the New York Times, the Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, and CNN” were “briefed at the end of September 2016 by [Steele] and Fusion at Fusion’s instruction.”   The filing further states that Mr. Steele “subsequently participated in further meetings at Fusion’s instruction with Fusion and the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News, which took place mid-October 2016.” Fn 11. According to these filings, “[t]he briefings involved the disclousure of limited intelligence regarding indications of Russian interference in the US election process and the possible co-ordination of members of Trump’s campaign team and Russian governmet officials.” Fn 12  In his interview with the Committee, Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS confirmed this account by Mr. Steele and his company as filed in the British court. Fn 13

(TS/NF) The first of these filings was publicly reported in teh U.S. media in April of 2017, yet the FBI did not subsequently disclose to the FISC this evidence suggesting that Mr. Steele had lied to the FBI. Instead the application still relied primarily on his credibility prior to the October media incident.

(TS/NF) The FBI received similar information from a Justice Department official, Bruce Ohr, who maintained contacts with Mr. Simpson and Mr. Steele about their dossier work, and whose wife also worked for Fusion GPS on the Russia project.   [720 characters – 10 lines or parts there of are blacked out]   He also noted in the same interview that Mr. Steele was” desperate” to see that Mr. Trump was not elected president. Fn 16 None of the information provided by Mr. Ohr in his interviews with the FBI was encluded in the FISA renewal applications, despite its relevance to whether Mr. Steele had lied to the FBI about his contacts with the Media as well as its broader relevance to his credibility and his state political motive.

Fn 10 (U) Steele Statement 2 at para. 18 (emphasis added).

Fn 11 (TS/NF)   Id. The filing also apparently described the media contact that resulted in the FBI’s suspension of its relationship with Mr. Steele, stating. “In addition, and again at Fusion’s instruction, late October 2016 the Second Defendant briefed a journalist from Mother Jones by Skype.”

FN 12. (U) Id.

FN 13. (U) Simpson Transcript, On File with the Sen. Comm. On the Judiciary at 205-07.

FN 14 (TS/NF) Ohr FD-302 (Nov. 22, 2016)

FN 15 (TS/NF) Ohr FD-302 (Dec. 12, 2016)

FN 15 (TS/NF) Ohr FD-302 (Nov. 22, 2016)

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (  5

Whether Mr. Steele lied to the FBI about his media contacts is relevant for at least two reasons. First, it is relevant to his credibility as a source, particularly given the lack of corroboration for his claims, at least at the time they were included in the FISA applications (ed spelling). Second, it is relevant to the reliability of his information-gathering efforts.

(U) Mr. Steele conducted his work for Fusion GPS compiling the “pre-election memoranda” “[b]etween June and early November 2016.” Fn 17 In the British litigation, Mr. Steele acknowledged briefing journalists about the dossier memoranda in late summer/autumn 2016. Fn 18 Unsurprisingly, during the summer of 2016, reports of at least some of the dossier allegations began circulating among reporters and people involved in Russian issues. Fn 19 Mr. Steele also admitted in the British litigation to briefing journalists from the Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, and CNN in September of 2016. Simply put, the more people who contemporaneously knew that Mr. Steele was compiling his dossier, the more likely it was vulnerable to manipulation. In fact, in the British litigation, which involves a post-election dossier memorandum, Mr. Steele admitted that he received and included in it unsolicited – and unverified – allegations. Fn 21 That filing implied that he similarly received unsolicited intelligence on these matters prior to the election as well, stating that Mr. Steele “continued to receive unsolicited intelligence on the matters covered by the pre-election memoranda after the US Presidential election.” Fn 22

[the next 260 characters are blacked out]

(U) One memorandum by Mr. Steele that was not published by Buzzfeed is dated October 19, 2016. The report alleges [31 characters blacked out] , as well as [25 characters blacked out]   Mr. Steele’s memorandum states that his company “received this report from [11 characters black] US State Department,” that the report was the second in a series, and that the report was information that came from a foreign sub-source who “is in touch with [14 characters blacked a persons name] a contact of [18 characters another name blacked ], a friend of the Clintons, who passed it to [6 characters a name blacked ].” It is troubling enough that the Clinton Campaign funded Mr. Steele’s work, but that these Clinton associates were contemporaneously feeding Mr. Steele allegations raises additional concerns about his credibility.

Fn 17 (U) Steele Statement 1 at para. 9

Fn 18 (U) Steele Statement 1 at para. 32

FN 19 (U) Ahkmetshin Transcript, On File with the Sen. Comm. On the judiciary (Mr. Ahtkmetshin informed the Committee that he began hearing from journalists about the dossier before it was published, and thought it was the summer of 2016.

FN 20 (U) Steele Statement 2 at para. 18 (emphasis added)

FN 21 (U) Steele Statement 1 at para. 18 and 20c.

FN 22 (U) Id; see Steele Statement 2 at 4. (“Such intelligence was not actively sought, it was merely received.”)

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (

6

[70 characters blacked out]

(TS/NF) Simply put, Mr. Steele told the FBI he had not shared the Carter Page dossier information beyond his client and the FBI. The Department repeated that claim to the FISC. Yet Mr. Steele acknowledged in sworn filings that he did brief Yahoo News and other media organizations about the dossier around the time of the publication of the Yahoo News articled that seems to be based on the dossier.

(U) On September 23, 2016, Yahoo News published its article entitled U.S. Intel Officials Probe Ties Between Trump Adviser and Kremlin. Fn 23 That article described claims about meetings between Carter Page and Russians, including Igor Sechin. Mr. Sechin is described an the article as “a longtime Putin associate and former Russian deputy prime minister” under sanction by the Treasury Department in response to Russia’s actions in the Ukraine. Fn 24 The article attributes the information to “a well-placed Western intelligence source,” who reportedly said that “[a]t their alleged meeting, Sechin raised the issue of the lifting of sanctions with Page.” Fn 25 This information also appears in multiple memoranda that make up the dossier. Fn 26

(U) In sum, around the same time Yahoo news published its article containing dossier information about Carter Page, Mr. Steele and Fusion GPS had briefed Yahoo News and other news outlets about information contained in the dossier.

(TS/NF) These facts appear to directly contradict the FBI’s assertions in its initial applications for the Page FISA warrant, as well as subsequent renewal applications. The FBI repeatedly represented to the court that Mr. Steele told the FBI he did not have unauthorized contacts with the press about the dossier prior to October 2016. The FISA applications make these claims specifically in the context of the September 2016 Yahoo News article. But Mr. Steele has admitted – publicly before a court of law – that he did have such contacts with the press at this time, and his former business partner Mr. Simpson has confirmed it to the Committee. Thus, the FISA, applications are either materially false in claiming that Mr. Steele said he did not provide dossier information to the press prior to October 2016, or Mr. Steele made materially false statements to the FBI when he claimed he only provided the dossier information to this business partner and the FBI.

In this case, Mr. Steele’s apparent deception seems to have posed significant, material consequences on the FBI’s investigative decisions and representations to the court. Mr. Steele’s information formed a significant portion of the FBI’s warrant application, and the FISA application relied more heavily on Steele’s credibility than on any independent verification or corroboration for his claims. Thus the basis for the warrant authorizing surveillance on a U.S. citizen rests largely on Mr. Steele’s credibility. The Department of Justice has a responsibility to

FN 23 (U) Michael Isikoff, U.S. Intel Officials Probe Ties Between Trump Adviser and Kremlin, Yahoo News (Sept. 23, 2016).

FN 24. (U) Id.

FN 25 (U) Id.

FN 26 (U) Bensinger et. al. BuzzFeed.

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (   7

Determine whether Mr. Steele provided false information to the FBI and whether the FBI’s representations to the court were in error.

(U) Accordingly, we are referring Christopher Steele to the Department of justice for investigation of potential violation(s) of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001.

TOP SECRET//NOFORN (  8

—— ———— —————–

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-01-25%20CEG%20LG%20to%20Brazile%20(Steele%20Dossier).pdf

January 25 , 2018

Donna Brazile
Former Chair, Democratic National Committee Brazile & Associates LLC
607 14th Street Northwest
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005

Dear Ms. Brazile:

In October 2017, the Washington Post reported that Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee had funded, via Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele’s creation of a series ofmemos relying largely on Russian government sources to make allegations against Donald Trump and his associates. 1 A letter from the law firm Perkins Coie acknowledged that, “[t]o assist in its representation ofthe DNC and Hillary for America, Perkins Coie engaged Fusion GPS in April of 2016” and that “the engagement concluded prior to the November 2016 Presidential election.”2

The Senate Judiciary Committee has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight ofthe FBI andthebroaderDepartmentofJustice. Partofthatdutyinvolvesensuringthatlawenforcement efforts are conducted without improper political influence. Accordingly, the Committee has been investigating the FBI’s relationship with Christopher Steele during this time his work was funded by Hillary for America and the DNC. The scope of our review includes the extent to which the FBI may have relied on information relayed by Mr. Steele in seeking judicial authorization for surveillance of individuals associated with Mr. Trump. It also includes whether any application::> that may have been made for permission for such surveillance fully and accurately disclosed:

(1) the source of Fusion GPS’s and Mr. Steele’s funding;
(2) the degree to which his claims were or were not verified;
(3) the motivations of Mr. Steele, his clients, and his sources; and (4) representations about their contacts with the press.

Understanding the extent of the DNC’s knowledge of, and interactions with, Mr. Steele and others involved in Fusion GPS’s work is essential to this inquiry.

1 Adam Entous, Devlin Barrett, Rosalind Helderman, Clinton Campaign, DNC Paid For Research That Led to Russia Dossier, THE WASHINGTON POST (Oct. 24, 2017).
2 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4116754-Perkins-Coie-Letter.html

January 25 , 2018 Page 2 of 4

In light of this, by February 8, 2018, please answer the following questions and provide the following requested documents:

1. Prior to the Washington Post ‘s article in October of 2017, were you or anyone else at the DNC3 aware ofMr. Steele’s efforts on behalfofthe DNC to compile and distribute allegations about Mr. Trump and the Russian government? If so, when and howdidyouortheyfirstlearnofhisactivitiesontheDNC’sbehalf? Pleaseprovide all related documents.
2. Did you or anyone else at the DNC receive copies of any of the memoranda comprising Mr. Steele’s dossier prior to its publication by Buzzfeed in January of 2017? I f so, how and when? Please provide all related documents.
3. Regardless of whether you received copies of the actual memoranda, did you or anyone else at the DNC otherwise receive information contained in the dossier prior to Buzzfeed publishing the dossier in January of 2017? If so, how and when? Please provide all related documents.
4. Did you or anyone else at the DNC receive other memoranda written or forwarded by Mr. Steele regarding Mr. Trump and his associates that were not published as part of the Buzzfeed dossier? If so, how and when? Please provide all related documents.
5. Did you or anyone else at the DNC distribute outside of the organization any of the dossier memoranda, information contained therein, or other information obtained by Mr. Steele? Ifso, please list who distributed the information, what was distributed, and to whom it was distributed. Please provide all related documents.
6. Did you or anyone else at the DNC communicate with any government officials – whether in the executive, legislative or judicial branches – regarding the dossier memoranda, information contained therein, or other information obtained by Mr. Steele? Ifso, please list the parties involved in the communication, the content of the communication, and the date and means ofthe communication. Please provide all related documents.

7. Did you or anyone else at the DNC instruct, request, suggest, or imply that any individuals should pass along information to Mr. Steele or his intermediaries? Please provide all related documents.
8. Did you or anyone else at the DNC communicate with members of the press regarding the dossier memoranda, information contained therein, or other information obtained by Mr. Steele? I f so, please list the parties involved in the

Ms. Brazile January 25, 2018 Page 3 of 4

fn 3 References such as “anyone at the DNC” include all of the DNC’s officers, employees, contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers.

communication, the content ofthe communication, and the date and means ofthe communication. Please provide all related documents.

9. Did you or anyone at the DNC inform Secretary Clinton of Mr. Steele’s efforts, whether by name or not, or ofthe allegations he was spreading? Ifso, who and when? Please provide all related documents.
10. Were you or anyone else at the DNC aware of Mr. Steele’s contacts with the FBI or other government agencies prior to the 2016 election? If so, who? When and how did they become aware? Please provide all related documents.
11. Did you or anyone else at the DNC encourage, whether directly or through intermediaries, Mr. Steele to initiate or continue contacts with the FBI or other government agencies? If so, who and when? Please provide all related documents.

12. For the period from March 2016 through January 2017, please provide all communications to, from, copying, or relating to: Fusion GPS; Bean LLC; Glenn Simpson; Mary Jacoby; Peter Fritsch; Tom Catan; Jason Felch; Neil King; David Michaels; Taylor Sears; Patrick Corcoran; Laura Sego; Jay Bagwell; Erica Castro; Nellie Ohr; Rinat Akhmetshin; Ed Lieberman; Edward Baumgartner; Orbis Business Intelligence Limited; Orbis Business International Limited.; Walsingham Training Limited; Walsingham Partners Limited; Christopher Steele; Christopher Burrows; Sir Andrew Wood, Paul Hauser;4 Oleg Deripaska; Cody Shearer; Sidney Blumenthal; Jon Winer;5 Kathleen Kavalec; Victoria Nuland; Daniel Jones;6 Bruce Ohr; Peter Strzok; Andrew McCabe; James Baker;7 Sally Yates; Loretta Lynch; John Brennan.

FN Ms. Brazile January 25, 2018 Page 3 of4

communication, the content ofthe communication, and the date and means ofthe communication. Please provide all related documents.

9. Did you or anyone at the DNC inform Secretary Clinton of Mr. Steele’s efforts, whether by name or not, or ofthe allegations he was spreading? Ifso, who and when? Please provide all related documents.
10. Were you or anyone else at the DNC aware of Mr. Steele’s contacts with the FBI or other government agencies prior to the 2016 election? If so, who? When and how did they become aware? Please provide all related documents.
11. Did you or anyone else at the DNC encourage, whether directly or through intermediaries, Mr. Steele to initiate or continue contacts with the FBI or other government agencies? If so, who and when? Please provide all related documents.

12. For the period from March 2016 through January 2017, please provide all communications to, from, copying, or relating to: Fusion GPS; Bean LLC; Glenn Simpson; Mary Jacoby; Peter Fritsch; Tom Catan; Jason Felch; Neil King; David Michaels; Taylor Sears; Patrick Corcoran; Laura Sego; Jay Bagwell; Erica Castro; Nellie Ohr; Rinat Akhmetshin; Ed Lieberman; Edward Baumgartner; Orbis Business Intelligence Limited; Orbis Business International Limited.; Walsingham Training Limited; Walsingham Partners Limited; Christopher Steele; Christopher Burrows; Sir Andrew Wood, Paul Hauser;4 Oleg Deripaska; Cody Shearer; Sidney Blumenthal; Jon Winer;5 Kathleen Kavalec; Victoria Nuland; Daniel Jones;6 Bruce Ohr; Peter Strzok; Andrew McCabe; James Baker;7 Sally Yates; Loretta Lynch; John Brennan.

4 Paul E. Hauser-partner at Bryan Cave in London and attorney for Oleg Deripaska.
5 Jonathan M. Winer- former State Department official.
6 Daniel J. Jones – former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer for Senator Feinstein, current President of the Penn Quarter Group.
7 James A. Baker – FBI official.

Ms. Brazile January 25, 2018 Page 4 of 4

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please contact Patrick Davis of Chairman Grassley’s staff at (202) 224-5225 or Lee Holmes of Chairman Graham’s staff at (202) 224-5972 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

Lindsey O. Graham, Chairman
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Committee on the Judiciary

cc: The Honorable Dianne Feinstein Ranking Member

Committee on the Judiciary

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Committee on the Judiciary

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-01-25%20CEG%20LG%20to%20Benenson%20(Steele%20Dossier).pdf

January 25, 2018

Joel Benenson
Chief Strategist, Hillary for America Benenson Strategy Group
777 3rd Avenue
33rd Floor
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Benenson:

In October 2017, the Washington Post reported that Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee had funded, via Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele ‘ s creation o f a series of memos relying largely on Russian government sources to make allegations against Donald Trump and his associates. 1 A letter from the law firm Perkins Coie acknowledged that, “[t]o assist in its representation ofthe DNC and Hillary for America, Perkins Coie engaged Fusion GPS in April of 2016” and that “the engagement concluded prior to the November 2016 Presidential election.”2

DITTO Letter To Brazile, etc

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-01-25%20CEG%20LG%20to%20DNC%20(Steele%20Dossier).pdf

January 25, 2018

The Honorable Thomas Perez Chairman
Democratic National Committee 430 South Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003

c/o

Marc E. Elias, Esq.
Perkins Coie LLP
700 13th Street, NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20005

Dear Mr. Perez:

In October 2017, the Washington Post reported that Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee had funded, via Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele’s creation of a series of memos relying largely on Russian government sources to make allegations against Donald Trump and his associates. 1 A letter from the law firm Perkins Coie acknowledged that, “[t]o assist in its representation ofthe DNC and Hillary for America, Perkins Coie engaged Fusion GPS in April of 2016” and that “the engagement concluded prior to the November 2016 Presidential election.”2

DITTO Brazile letter this date

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/search?q=referral&access=p&as_dt=i&as_epq=&as_eq=&as_lq=&as_occt=any&as_oq=&as_q=&as_sitesearch=&client=kaine&sntsp=0&filter=0&getfields=&lr=&num=15&numgm=3&oe=UTF8&output=xml_no_dtd&partialfields=&proxycustom=&proxyreload=0&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&requiredfields=&sitesearch=&sort=date%3AD%3AS%3Ad1&start=0&ud=1

Many results

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-02-02%20CEG%20to%20FBI%20DOJ%20(Declassification%20of%20Steele%20Criminal%20Referral).pdf

February 2, 2018

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Christopher A. Wray Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20535

The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein Deputy Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Director Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein:

Pursuant to Section 3.5 of Executive Order 13526, I am writing to formally demand a Mandatory Declassification Review of the classified criminal referral Senator Graham and I sent to the FBI and the Justice Department regarding Christopher Steele’s potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001.1

On January 4, 2018, Senator Graham and I sent a classified memo to the Justice Department and the FBI. The eight-page memo referred for further investigation materially inconsistent statements reportedly made by Christopher Steele, the author of the anti-Trump dossier funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign during the 2016 Presidential election. On January 19, 2018, an FBI Congressional liaison, Greg Brower, sent a letter claiming that a few of the paragraphs marked as unclassified in our memo contained classified information. A redacted copy of Mr. Brower’s letter is attached for reference.

As I explained in a speech on the Senate floor, the FBI’s claims mischaracterize and misstate what those paragraphs actually say. Nonetheless, on January 29, I wrote to Director Wray and Inspector General Horowitz, raising my objections to the FBI’s classification claims, but attaching a further redacted version of the referral that addressed FBI’s concerns. On February 2, 2018, Mr. Brower stated that the FBI had no concerns with the public release of that further redacted version, which is attached to this letter.

Today, the President formally declassified a memorandum drafted by the majority staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).2 Much of the information in the declassified HPSCI memorandum overlaps with the information in the criminal referral made by Senator Graham and me. That information has now been declassified and can no longer

1 Similarly, pursuant to Section 1.8 of Executive Order 13526, I am, as an authorized holder of the information, also formally challenging the propriety of the classification of the FBI and Justice Department information referenced in the referral.
2 https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/memo_and_white_house_letter.pd

Director Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein February 2, 2018 Page 2 of 2

properly be deemed as classified in our criminal referral. Accordingly, I ask that you immediately review the classified referral in light of today’s declassification and provide the Committee with the declassified version by no later than February 6, 2018.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please contact Patrick Davis of my staff at (202) 224-5225 if you have any questions.

Charles E. Grassley Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

Enclosures: As stated.

cc: The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz Inspector General

United States Department of Justice

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary

Director, Office of Information Policy United States Department of Justice 1425 New York Ave, NW
Suite 11050

Washington, DC 2053,  Sincerely,

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-01-19%20FBI%20to%20CEG%20(Unclassified%20Classification%20objections%20to%20Steele%20Referral).pdf

U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington. D.C. 20535-0001

January 19, 2018

Honorable Charles E. Grassley Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

JUDICIARY – GRASSLEY OSS-2018-0076, Copy 001
FBI RESPONSE TO REQUEST REGARDING STEELE MEMORANDUM (U)

COPY 1OF2 19 JAN 2018 2 PGS

Dear Mr. Chairnan:

(U) 1 he Department of Justice and the FBI appreciate the Senate Judiciary Committee’s consultation regarding the potential public release of unclassified portions of its January 5, 2018 classified memorandum regarding Christopher Ste le. As referenced in a January 12 2018 communication with your staff I am following-up with an official FBI response to your request

As previously communicated to your staff via e-mail the FBI considers some information marked UNCLASSIFIED within the Committee s memo to be classified. This derives from the fact that ***

(U//FOUO) In particular the FBI consider the following portions of the document that are marked UNCLASSIFIED to contain classified information: ***

6· Para 4: This paragraph discloses information ***
that the FBI continues to protect at the S C //NOFORN level.

Although the underlying source document produced for the Committee in camera

Did not contain classification markings the FBI has treated the document. – classified. ***

Disclaimer: