Latest news with #CrossfireHurricane
New York Post
28-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Nellie Ohr, Justice Department official's wife, perjured herself in Trump-Russia probe testimony, bombshell FBI records show
WASHINGTON — The wife of a former Justice Department official gave 'demonstrably false' testimony to Congress about her involvement in drafting and disseminating since-debunked dossiers about Donald Trump's purported collusion with Russia in 2016, according to a bombshell trove of internal FBI records released Wednesday by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Nellie Ohr worked for research firm Fusion GPS when it was hired in the lead-up to the 2016 election to dig up dirt on the Trump campaign's alleged links to Russian organized crime — but later told a House panel she had no knowledge of the DOJ's parallel investigation into the matter. Evidence assembled by the FBI indicates that Ohr helped compile two dossiers — tincluding the notorious file pushed by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele — that helped launch the bureau's Crossfire Hurricane investigation. 4 Nellie Ohr provided 'demonstrably false' testimony to Congress about her involvement in drafting and disseminating dossiers about Donald Trump's purported collusion with Russia in 2016, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Getty Images The Fusion GPS research repeated errors or included information similar to those discovered later in the Steele dossier. Ohr also sent emails — some of which she later deleted — directly to DOJ prosecutors, not all of whom she admitted to interacting with in subsequent congressional testimony. Ohr's husband Bruce, then a deputy associate attorney general, also received emails as well as a thumb drive from Nellie containing Fusion GPS research that was passed on to the FBI. 4 Her husband, Bruce Ohr, then a deputy associate attorney general, also received emails as well as a thumb drive from her containing the Fusion GPS research that was passed on to the FBI. AP The couple also personally met Steele at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on July 30, 2016, and discussed allegations — later relayed to the bureau — that Trump campaign aide Carter Page had met with Russian officials and that Kremlin intelligence had the Republican candidate 'over a barrel.' While the Ohrs invoked spousal privilege before Congress on the question of whether they discussed the Trump-Russia probe, the declassified FBI files put out by Grassley reveal the bureau determined there was 'little distinction' between the couple's professional and personal lives. 'There is probable cause to believe that Bruce and Nellie did communicate with each other about their respective activity in furtherance of the Russia-collusion investigations and/or narrative,' the 43-page FBI document written in September of 2019 states. 4 Evidence assembled by the FBI point to her work helping create two dossiers — the notorious one pushed by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and an 'Alfa' one — that helped launch the bureau's Crossfire Hurricane investigation. AFP via Getty Images The records were compiled in response to a criminal referral made that year by then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) that claimed Nellie Ohr knowingly gave false testimony about her involvement with the collusion investigation to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees in October 2018. The Justice Department never prosecuted Ohr. In November 2019, the department did secure the conviction of Trump ally Roger Stone for lying to congressional investigators amid their probe. 'Ohr never suffered consequences for advancing the phony Trump-Russia narrative and attempting to cover up her involvement in the hoax,' Grassley said in a statement. 'Yet time and again, the American justice system has been weaponized against President Trump and his associates with reckless abandon.' 4 'The DOJ's inaction on Nellie Ohr's criminal referral — despite the obviously incriminating evidence provided in the FBI's own analysis — undermines public trust in the rule of law,' he added. AP 'The DOJ's inaction on Nellie Ohr's criminal referral — despite the obviously incriminating evidence provided in the FBI's own analysis — undermines public trust in the rule of law,' he added. Grassley also thanked FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for declassifying the bureau's internal investigative findings. Bruce Ohr was demoted twice and resigned from his DOJ role before he could be fired in October 2020, following a disciplinary referral about his conduct from Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The Post reached out to Nellie and Bruce Ohr for comment.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE FBI declassifies secret document revealing dramatic development in hunt for origins of Trump Russia probe
A newly declassified document from the FBI reveals that Fusion GPS Contractor Nellie Ohr was accused of falsely testifying to Congress about her role in the Crossfire Hurricane probe into alleged links between Donald Trump 's campaign and Russia. The 2019 FBI document, exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail, reveals the Washington Field Office's Federal Public Corruption squad was tasked with the review of a Congressional Criminal Referral which accused Ohr of obstructing an investigation and providing Congress with demonstrably false information. The document outlines evidence against Ohr, indicating that it is up to the Department of Justice as to whether it might lead to a viable charge. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley responded to the document's release in a strongly worded statement. 'By lying to Congress, Nellie Ohr showed contempt for congressional oversight and the American people,' he said in an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail. A Congressional criminal referral accused Ohr for falsely testifying that she did not have any knowledge of an ongoing investigation of President Trump's connections to Russia and denied she shared any of her research on Russia with individuals outside of her firm Fusion GPS. Fusion GPS was the company hired by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign to connect Trump to Russian organized crime and government interests, and fed the infamous 'Steele Dossier' that was ultimately shared by the Clinton campaign with Obama administration officials and a select list of Washington, DC journalists. The document provided details of her testimony that could serve as evidence to charge Ohr with a crime, that could include lying to Congress and/or obstructing the congressional investigation. Grassley criticized the FBI and Department of Justice for failing to hold Ohr accountable. '[T]he FBI and DOJ's failure to hold Ohr accountable for appearing to commit multiple felonies and its obstructive conduct against agents that sought additional information reveals the agencies' deeply disturbing political bias,' Grassley added. 'Ohr never suffered consequences for advancing the phony Trump-Russia narrative and attempting to cover up her involvement in the hoax.' Grassley's longstanding efforts to provide transparency in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation of Trump is bearing additional fruit, as he is now working with Trump's appointees at the FBI and the Justice Department to expose allegedly questionable behavior from the Obama and Biden administrations. 'The DOJ's inaction on Nellie Ohr's criminal referral – despite the obviously incriminating evidence provided in the FBI's own analysis – undermines public trust in the rule of law,' he wrote. 'I applaud Director Patel, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche for cooperating with my request to declassify this information, which is in the public's interest, and chart a new course for transparency and accountability at the FBI and DOJ.' According to the FBI analysis, Ohr testified she 'would not have any knowledge of what [was] going on in an ongoing investigation' at DOJ and would not 'have any knowledge of the Department of Justice's investigations on Russia.' She also denied she shared her research with her husband, DOJ attorney Bruce Ohr, and Christopher Steele. The investigation revealed that Ohr provided a thumb drive of all her Fusion GPS research to her husband Bruce Ohr, who worked as the Associate Deputy Attorney General at the time of the case and that she was aware of the ongoing effort by the Justice Department to investigate. As a couple, according to the FBI document, Bruce and Nellie Ohr routinely traveled together and associated with similar sources, as she conducted her work with FusionGPS while her husband continued his work at the Justice Department. As a former CIA analyst, Nellie Ohr was heavily engaged in investigating Carter Page, Michael Flynn, and Paul Manafort's engagements and travel with Russia and communications with Russian officials. The investigation revealed that Nellie Ohr also sent her husband Bruce multiple emails with attached documents of her research, who then forwarded the information to the Justice Department. The FBI document provides that in In one July 6, 2016 email, Nellie Ohr emailed her husband an article about Trump's connections to Russia and bolded the following sentence for emphasis. 'If Putin wanted to concoct the ideal candidate to service his purposes, his laboratory creation would look like Donald Trump,' it read. Nellie Ohr also testified she purchased a Ham radio and took classes to obtain a license to operate it for 'emergency communications' that were 'well before' taking a job at Fusion GPS, but subsequent research revealed it took place during her employment, according to the document. Her husband Bruce Ohr was heavily involved with the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation that focused on Trump's connections to Russia. The document reveals that Ohr also communicated with three DOJ Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Section (OCDETF) prosecutors on the case. Another email revealed that DOJ prosecutors reached out to Nellie Ohr via her husband Bruce to see if his wife would be interested in participating in an interview on the subject and to affirm there would be no conflict of interest between the two parties. Bruce Ohr forwarded the request to his wife that read, 'Hi honey! I trust you are okay with this? Love, B.' 'Sure!' she replied in an email and then added another email that read, 'Cool.' A handful of emails show that Nellie Ohr worked in close contact with the Department of Justice to provide them information about Trump and Russia, according to the FBI document. In an April 11, 2016 email, Nellie Ohr revealed she had communicated with DOJ prosecutors. 'I enjoyed talking with them and am thinking about potential future conversations,' she wrote.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Brought shame to the FBI badge': Dan Bongino slams former bureau chief James Comey over '86 47' Instagram post
on Sunday slammed former bureau chief , calling him out for a now-deleted post many saw as threatening towards . , who led the from 2013 until he was dismissed by Trump in 2017, caused a storm last week after posting a cryptic image of seashells arranged to read '86 47'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The number '86' is widely interpreted to mean 'get rid of', and Trump is the 47th US president. The post was quickly removed, but not before sparking outrage. said that current FBI Director Kash Patel and he are 'cleaning up messes' left behind by Comey. 'Former FBI Director Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,' Bongino wrote in a post on X. 'The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.' Comey denied any violent intent, saying, 'It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.' In a further statement, he added, 'I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.' But Trump rejected that explanation. 'He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,' Trump told Fox News. 'If you're the FBI director, and you don't know what that meant, that meant 'assassination,' and it says it loud and clear.' The Secret Service has since interviewed Comey about the post, while FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau was 'in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran' regarding the matter. Bongino didn't hold back in his assessment of Comey's legacy. 'As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world,' he wrote. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.' While Bongino emphasised the FBI does not directly investigate threats against the president, he said the agency has 'the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law. And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.' He and Patel also hinted at more revelations to come, especially regarding past FBI operations like Crossfire Hurricane and the Capitol riot investigations. 'I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,' he said. 'Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey's poor decision-making and atrocious leadership. ' Bongino explained that he chose to speak out now because his interview with Maria Bartiromo, airing Sunday, was recorded before Comey's post emerged. He ended his statement with a patriotic message: 'God bless America, and all those who defend Her.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI's top boss Kash Patel says bureau ran cover for Hillary but it all ends under Trump
FBI Director Kash Patel hinted at a "wave of transparency" on the horizon as the agency struggles to rebuild public trust, especially in the wake of longstanding controversy over alleged politicization and selective prosecution. Sitting alongside FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino for a "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive interview, Patel pointed to the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as an example of political bias and institutional failure. He claimed senior officials within the Department of Justice "hijacked" their constitutional responsibilities by selectively deciding which cases to pursue. "You asked in the beginning how the FBI was weaponized," he said to host Maria Bartiromo. "Well, the FBI hijacked the constitutional responsibility of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General, and James Comey and others specifically decided what cases to prosecute and not prosecute. Don't believe me? Go to the videotape in the Hillary Clinton investigation." Graham Grills Fbi Nominee Patel Over 'Disgusting' And 'Corrupt' Crossfire Hurricane Probe "We don't decide prosecutions, and neither does any agent or intel analyst. We have great partners under Attorney General [Pam] Bondi. We work with them and discuss the matter with them, but the prosecutorial decision is with them." Patel said that new agency leadership has uncovered additional details regarding the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia and are working with Congress to put out information surrounding the episode. Read On The Fox News App "That's how vindictive and vicious the former leadership structure here was. Not only did they bastardize the FISA process and lie to the American public, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren't supposed to look," Patel said. "It's a good thing we're here now to clean it up, and you're about to see a wave of transparency… Just give us about a week or two." The 6 Biggest Fbi Scandals Under The Biden Administration Patel and Bongino's wide-ranging interview with Bartiromo centered on investments in homeland security, alleged corruption among past agency leadership and restoring public trust in the institution. In a pointed critique, Patel accused his FBI predecessors of "intentionally failing the American public" by putting on what he called the "biggest D.C. deception game" ever seen. He claimed the bureau's reputation as a storied law enforcement agency was damaged by the likes of leaders like James Comey, Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok and accused them of weaponizing the FBI for political purposes, misleading both the courts and the American people. "They said the FBI was the most storied institution for law enforcement, and it was, and it will be again very soon," Patel vowed, tossing in an allegation that the former leadership used taxpayer funds, potentially illegally, to run their operation and withheld key evidence from the court. "That's what broke the FBI. And then, when they were caught, they lied about it… and [few media personalities] were brave enough to cover it six, seven, eight years ago, and we're still talking about it today because Congress is working rigorously with us [and] the Crossfire Hurricane documents are coming fast and hard, and they're being sent there un-redacted so we can have full accountability." "That's how you restore the trust that was lost to the American public when it comes to the FBI," Patel article source: FBI's top boss Kash Patel says bureau ran cover for Hillary but it all ends under Trump
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'This time, it's not a cover-up': FBI director Kash Patel promises ‘truckloads' of files will be made public, says 'give us a week'
FBI bosses Kash Patel and Dan Bongino promise 'truckloads' of files will be made public A wave of new disclosures could be on the horizon, according to FBI Director Kash Patel . In an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, he told host Maria Bartiromo that the American public is about to see a significant release of long-hidden documents. Patel said the material relates to both the Trump-Russia investigation , known as Crossfire Hurricane , and the January 6 Capitol breach . According to Patel, the documents will be made public within two weeks, promising what he called 'a wave of transparency.' In a fiery exchange on Sunday Morning Futures, Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino promised that long-sought accountability is coming. 'Just give us about a week or two,' Patel said, hinting that revelations surrounding 'Crossfire Hurricane,' the FBI 's original probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, will soon surface. The interview marked the first time the two men, both newly appointed, publicly detailed the extent of the evidence they've uncovered. 'They hid it in rooms where people weren't supposed to look' Patel, who was previously the lead Russiagate investigator for the House Intelligence Committee, said the FBI's former leadership deliberately misused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process and buried critical material. 'They bastardised the process, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren't supposed to look,' he said. He specifically named former FBI officials James Comey , Andrew McCabe, and Peter Strzok , claiming they rigged the 2016 election process by lying to federal courts and hiding exculpatory evidence. 'That's what broke the FBI,' Patel said, 'and we're here now to clean it up.' Documents sent to Congress, including on January 6 riots Patel and Bongino confirmed that they've already begun sending batches of unredacted documents to Congress. The material includes what they call 'truckloads' of information on the January 6 Capitol riot and previously hidden files from the Russiagate saga. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, insisted that this is not just political theatre. 'We've been personally briefed extensively on every single detail, nugget, tendril of this case,' he said, referring to ongoing Trump assassination attempt investigations. 'One case is already in court. If the 'there' was there, we would've told you. But in some cases—it's just not.' 'This time, it's not a cover-up' Bongino said that years of corruption might take longer to uncover. 'We've been here two months,' he said. 'This is a $12 billion organisation with 38,000 people. To expect us to dismantle eight years of corruption overnight is unrealistic. You want it done right or done quickly?' Bartiromo pushed hard for results, saying, 'Come on, Director, with all due respect, we've been talking about this for a long time. There's been no accountability. Comey and Strzok have media gigs. They're doing fine.' Patel acknowledged the criticism but pointed out legal barriers: 'We weren't in the FBI when the five-year statute of limitations was still in play. We'll prosecute what we can—but a lot of it is now time-barred.' On Epstein, fentanyl, and Letitia James In another segment, Patel said he believed Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, based on his experience in the prison system. 'You know a suicide when you see one,' he said. Bongino backed him up: 'I've seen the whole file. He killed himself.' Patel also claimed all fentanyl coming into the US is entering via the northern border from Canada. On the legal front, he confirmed a mortgage fraud case involving New York Attorney General Letitia James is underway, calling it 'a case of great public importance.' Patel said the FBI under his leadership would not spare wrongdoers regardless of political affiliation. 'We don't prejudge any case. If you broke the law, we're going to investigate you.'
