From Fox News: “Republicans allege that Ohr played a key role in selling the so-called Steele dossier, commissioned by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS and paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Ohr was grilled over his involvement behind closed doors on Tuesday by the House Oversight and Judiciary committees
“Messages indicate Ohr continued to communicate with dossier author Steele after the FBI fired him as a source in late 2016 due to his contacts with the media.
“I don’t know if it’s improper but I want to know who at DOJ knew and it certainly looks like he continued to meet with Mr. Steele after the FBI had terminated their relationship with Mr. Steele,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News ahead of the Tuesday meeting.
“Ohr’s wife Nellie worked at Fusion as a Russian specialist and did research that formed part of the dossier.
“Ohr, who joined the Justice Department in 1991 and eventually was named the associate deputy attorney general before being demoted amid the investigation into his meetings with Steele, did not reply to questions shouted by reporters before his hearing on Tuesday.
“At least seven Republican House members traveled to Washington over the August recess for the interview. No Democratic lawmakers appeared to attend, though staff were in the room.
“Democrats say the entire GOP investigation is an attempt to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller. They have criticized the Republicans’ focus on Ohr as overblown and misleading.
“With Paul Manafort in jail, Michael Cohen in court, and a host of longtime Trump confidants cooperating with federal prosecutors, we can understand why Republicans are increasingly desperate to create a distraction and undermine the Department of Justice as a hedge against what the investigators may find,” Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., said Wednesday in a joint statement.
“The two lawmakers added: “Mr. Ohr has already been forced to endure President Trump’s baseless Twitter attacks. Yesterday’s interview was merely a doubling down of that strategy.” Nadler and Cummings serve as ranking members on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees respectively.”