Justice Department official Bruce Ohr brought up “possible ethics concerns” ahead of his testimony before Congress last year.
An email exchange between Ohr and a Justice Department ethics lawyer in January 2018 was obtained by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.
Much of what is said is redacted, but provides some insight into Ohr’s thought process after the Senate and House intelligence committees had requested to interview him about investigations into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Shortly after receiving the Senate request, a series of stories broke in the press about my alleged connections to Chris Steele, the author of the so-called Trump dossier. [Redacted],” Ohr wrote to Justice Department lawyer Cynthia Shaw. “My question has to do with [redacted]. Are there any guidelines for [redacted] in order to satisfy any possible ethics concerns?”
Shaw’s response to Ohr is largely redacted. “Can you obtain [redacted],” she said.
Ohr acted as an unofficial back channel between the FBI and Christopher Steele, the author of the so-called Trump dossier. He was demoted when it was revealed he met with Steele and Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which commissioned Steele’s work. Ohr also told lawmakers his wife Nellie Ohr was employed by Fusion GPS and shared a thumb drive with him to hand over to the FBI.
The dossier, which contained unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia, has been a subject of concern for GOP lawmakers, particularly for how it was used by the FBI to in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant applications to gain the authority to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The FBI suspended its relationship with Steele in October 2016 for unauthorized contact with the media. Despite this, the FBI maintained an unofficial back channel with Steele up to at least November 2017 via Ohr.
The emails were obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit Judicial Watch filed against the Justice Department. The group also obtained records that suggest close working ties between Nellie Ohr and Russia experts at the Justice Department.
“Bruce Ohr was the conflicted center of the [Hillary] Clinton-[Democratic National Committee] effort to launder fraudulent Russia material into the Justice Department and FBI,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a statment. “These documents show that Bruce Ohr was aware enough to look for advice — or look for cover — on ethics issue. His wife, Fusion GPS employee Nellie Ohr, had chummy relationships with various Justice Department officials, which illustrates perfectly why it was so easy for Fusion GPS to sell its anti-Trump Dossier scam.”
