Graham Urges Australia, Italy, United Kingdom to Continue Working with AG Barr on Investigation of Foreign Interference in ’16 Presidential Election

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) sent a letter to the Prime Ministers of Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom calling for continued cooperation with U.S. Attorney General William Barr as the Department of Justice investigates the origins and extent of foreign influence in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Chairman Graham wrote, “…I write to request your country’s continued cooperation with Attorney General Barr as the Department of Justice continues to investigate the origins and extent of foreign influence in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

Graham noted, “That the Attorney General is holding meetings with your countries to aid in the Justice Department’s investigation of what happened is well within the bounds of his normal activities.  He is simply doing his job.”

Graham also highlighted instances and information that U.S. law enforcement and intelligence communities used in the investigation of the 2016 presidential election:

• Relying on a deeply-flawed dossier filled with hearsay and written by a biased, former United Kingdom intelligence officer.
• Receiving intelligence from an Italian “professor” who was directed to contact a low-level Trump campaign advisor, George Papadopoulos to gather intelligence on the campaign.
• Accepting information from an Australian diplomat who was also directed to contact Papadopoulos and relay information obtained from Papadopoulos regarding the campaign to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Full text of the letter can be found HERE.

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