President Trump on Wednesday kept up the pressure on Department of Justice employee Bruce Ohr by asking why he still works for the government.
“How the hell is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch Hunt!” Trump tweeted.
How the hell is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
Ohr, formally the associate deputy attorney general, provided hours of testimony Tuesday behind closed doors to a joint meeting of the Judiciary and Oversight committees. Republicans are targeting him because of his ties to British spy Christopher Steele, who was contracted by Fusion GPS to do opposition research on then-presidential candidate Trump. Steele is the author of famous Trump-Russia dossier, which contains unverified information about the president.
[More: Republicans find conflicts in Bruce Ohr’s closed-door testimony]
Ohr was demoted after lawmakers discovered he met with Steele and Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson. Ohr’s wife, Nellie, was contracted by Fusion GPS to investigate Trump. Ohr has not been fired from the department and still has a role working on the Organized Crime Task Force.
GOP lawmakers who met with Ohr on Tuesday were trying to get more information about the government’s reliance on the Trump dossier and how the FBI used it to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court warrant spy on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page. Republican lawmakers believe that Ohr was feeding the FBI information from Steele and his connection to Fusion GPS.
Trump has threatened to revoke Ohr’s security clearance, which would effectively make the DOJ official unable to perform his role. The president has yet to revoke Ohr’s security clearance.
