Senators Grassley, Graham Refer Christopher Steele for Criminal Investigation
Information reviewed by committee investigators revealed significant inconsistencies in statements that Steele provided to authorities
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and
Terrorism Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) referred the author of the “Trump
Dossier,” Christopher Steele, to the Justice Department for investigation of
potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for false statements investigators
have reason to believe Steele made about the distribution of claims contained
in the dossier.
“I don’t take lightly making a referral for
criminal investigation. But, as I would with any credible evidence of a crime
unearthed in the course of our investigations, I feel obliged to pass that
information along to the Justice Department for appropriate review,” Grassley said. “Everyone
needs to follow the law and be truthful in their interactions with the FBI. If
the same actions have different outcomes, and those differences seem to
correspond to partisan political interests, then the public will naturally
suspect that law enforcement decisions are not on the up-and-up. Maybe there is
some innocent explanation for the inconsistencies we have seen, but it seems
unlikely. In any event, it’s up to the Justice Department to figure that out.”
“After reviewing how Mr. Steele
conducted himself in distributing information contained in the dossier and how
many stop signs the DOJ ignored in its use of the dossier, I believe that a
special counsel needs to review this matter. The rule of Law depends on
the government and all who work on its behalf playing by the rules
themselves. I hope the Department of Justice will carefully review our
letter and take appropriate action,” Graham said.
Yesterday evening, Grassley and
Graham delivered to Senate Security a letter and classified memorandum for
delivery to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher
Wray containing information that forms the basis of the referral.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001,
individuals are prohibited from making false statements to the federal authorities
of the United States. Grassley and Graham are referring Steele for making
potentially false statements about the distribution of claims from the dossier.
This referral does not pertain
to the veracity of claims contained in the dossier. The referral is for further
investigation only, and is not intended to be an allegation of a crime.
It is the practice of the
committee to notify the Justice Department whenever it comes across what
appears to be credible evidence of a criminal violation that warrants further
investigation by appropriate authorities based on information from any source,
public or non-public.
In the interest of transparency,
the senators and committee staff are working to redact all sensitive
information in the classified memorandum sent to Rosenstein and Wray. If and
when that process can be lawfully and appropriately completed in consultation
with the Justice Department, an unclassified version of the memorandum will be
released.
Text of Grassley’s and Graham’s
unclassified cover letter to Rosenstein and Wray follows (without classified
attachment).
TOP SECRET//NOFORN
(UNCLASSIFIED
when separated from attachment)
January 4, 2018
The Honorable Rod J.
Rosenstein The Honorable Christopher A. Wray
Deputy Attorney
General
Director
U.S. Department of
Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
950 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
20530
Washington, DC 20535
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 of potential violations of 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. If you 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
Committee on the Judiciary
Enclosure:
As stated.
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
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