Christopher Steele

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the FBI on Tuesday for records of communications and payments to dossier author Christopher Steele. 

Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the FBI failed to respond to a September 27, 2018, FOIA request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No.  1:19-cv-00572)). 

Judicial Watch is seeking:

All records of communications between any official, employee, or representative of the FBI and Mr. Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer and the owner of the private firm Orbis Business Intelligence.  All records related to the proposed, planned, or actual payment of any funds to Mr. Steele and/or Orbis Business Intelligence All records produced in preparation for, during, or pursuant to any meetings or telephonic conversations between any official, employee, or representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mr. Christopher Steele and/or any employee or representative of Orbis Business Intelligence

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The time frame for Judicial Watch’s request is March 9, 2017 to September 27, 2018. 

Former British spy Christopher Steele was paid by Hillary Clinton and the DNC [through law firm Perkins Coie and oppo research firm Fusion GPS] to compile a 35-page Russia dossier to smear Donald Trump. 

The dossier, which still has not been verified was then used by Obama’s FBI and DOJ to obtain a FISA warrant and three subsequent renewals to spy on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. 

The FBI also paid Steele to be a “confidential human source” [CHS] prior to firing him as a source on November 1st, 2016 after he disclosed his relationship to the FBI to reporters. 

Documents previously obtained by Judicial Watch revealed the FBI made a total of 11 payments to Christopher Steele, however, the docs were almost completely redacted. 

Other heavily redacted documents recently obtained by Judicial Watch revealed that twice-demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr acted as a backchannel for Steele to the FBI after the bureau terminated its relationship with Steele. 

“How and why did the FBI pay Christopher Steele, who was already being funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC through Fusion GPS?”  said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “ That we had to sue for this basic information shows the FBI may have something more to hide.” 

How and why did the FBI pay Christopher Steele, who was already being funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC through Fusion GPS?  That @JudicialWatch had to sue for this basic information shows the FBI may have something more to hide.  @RealDonaldTrump https://t.co/U5pCUMwgZd — Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 16, 2019

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