House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., sent another letter to the Justice Department late Tuesday asking for more information about “any contacts” between FBI intelligence sources and a dozen Trump campaign associates.
On the heels of Nunes’ recent push for details about FBI informants, his letter Tuesday widened the scope of his request to include “undercover agents, and/or confidential human sources” who interacted with former Trump allies before July 31, 2016, CNN reports. That date marks the start of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The letter specifically seeks details about any efforts to engage Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, White House advisers Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, as well as Michael Caputo, Sam Clovis, Sam Nunberg, George Papadopoulos, Carter Page, Walid Phares, Joseph Schmitz, and Roger Stone.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed with the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the agency had received Nunes’ communique.
“We appreciate the chairman’s new inquiry to the department and will work to respond appropriately,” the DOJ spokesperson said.
Nunes’ demand follows one he issued to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Sunday in which he slammed the DOJ’s No. 2 official for “unilaterally” restricting access to some subpoenaed documents to the “Gang of Eight.” The term Gang of Eight is used to describe a bipartisan group of congressional leaders briefed on information relating to the FBI’s use of a source to make contact with at least three members of the Trump campaign.
Nunes had set a 5 p.m. Monday deadline for the materials covering whether the FBI had used “informants against members or associates of the Trump campaign and if so, how many informants were used and how much money was spent on their activities.”
But in a rebuff of sorts, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd on Monday said the department had already complied with his demands in past disclosures. Regarding Nunes’ request concerning informants, however, Boyd added that the details sought were “solely in the custody and control of the FBI,” which has the ability to produce it “in a manner consistent with its obligation to protect confidential human sources and methods.”
A group of House Republicans have clashed with the Justice Department and the FBI as they pursue documents covering not only the FBI’s use of informants connected to the Trump campaign, but also its Russia investigation — including speculation it had abused Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act surveillance powers — and its probe of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Following a meeting earlier this month in which House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., demanded that all outstanding document requests be fulfilled, coupled with GOP threats of contempt of Congress and impeachment votes, the Justice Department did partially comply with document requests from the House intelligence and Judiciary Committees.
DOJ sent Nunes a classified letter with new details about FBI informants and its FISA oversight. The agency also provided a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., updating him on its work to disclose materials on its Russia and Clinton investigations.
That appeared to placate Ryan for the time being.
“Additional time has been requested for the outstanding items, and based on our understanding of the process we believe that request is reasonable. We expect the department to meet its full obligations to the two committees,” AshLee Strong, Ryan’s spokeswoman, said in a statement Saturday.
After House Judiciary Committee — which will host Rosenstein on Thursday — passed a resolution Tuesday demanding the Justice Department turn over materials still outstanding from subpoenas issued by Nunes and Goodlatte, R-Va., it was revealed Wednesday the House plans to vote this week on a new resolution this week that sets a deadline of July 6.
“If all the documents are not complied by July 6 […] then certainly contempt and impeachment would be in order,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., about his resolution.
Democrats have accused the president and Trump-aligned lawmakers of seeking to interfere with the federal investigation of Russian interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
