GOP chairman demands more docs on contacts FBI had with Trump campaign

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes is demanding more information from the Justice Department for ‘any contacts’ between FBI sources and more than a dozen Trump campaign officials and associates.

His extensive request focus not only on ‘FBI informants,’ but also on ‘undercover agents, and/or confidential human sources’ who interacted with Team Trump before July 31, 2016 – the date the FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation into possible contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign, according to a letter from Nunes obtained byCNN.

The list of Trump associates the Republican lawmaker indicated interest in includes a who’s who of those whom Robert Mueller’s Russia probe has touched on: Michael Caputo, Sam Clovis, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Corey Lewandowski, Stephen Miller, Peter Navarro, Sam Nunberg, George Papadopoulos, Carter Page, Walid Phares, Joseph Schmitz, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr.  

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes is demanding more information from the Justice Department for ‘any contacts’ between FBI sources and more than a dozen Trump campaign officials

President Trump and his Capitol Hill allies are in a standoff with the Justice Department

President Trump and his Capitol Hill allies are in a standoff with the Justice Department

Meanwhile, the House is preparing to vote Thursday on a resolution chastising the Justice Department for withholding what Republicans claim are critical documents connected to Mueller’s investigation.

The resolution is unenforceable but does place the Republican-controlled House on record demanding sensitive Justice Department documents, Politico reports.

It also brings the entire 435-member House into a political argument previously confined to a handful of power committees.  

The resolution repeatedly accuses the department of ‘non-compliance’ with House subpoenas and it demands the agency turn over all requested documents by July 6. 

Democrats oppose the measure.  

The Justice Department on Monday told Nunes it had complied with his requests to the extent legally permissible. 

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote to the GOpP congressman that the department’s efforts to accommodate the committee’s demands while protecting ongoing investigations were ‘consistent with the law.’

The shots have been fired back and forth in the standoff between the DoJ and President Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill.

Trump and those allies, which includes Nunes, have used the information that an FBI informant met with at least three Trump campaign officials in 2016 to suggest that the agency may have improperly collected information on the campaign.

Both Republicans and Democrats lawmakers who were briefed on the use of the informant have said they have not seen evidence to suggest FBI wrongdoing.

The Justice Department on Monday told Rep. Nunes it had complied with his requests to the extent legally permissible

The Justice Department on Monday told Rep. Nunes it had complied with his requests to the extent legally permissible

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray (pictured) will testify on Capitol Hill again on Thursday

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray (pictured) will testify on Capitol Hill again on Thursday

This latest request from Nunes could add fuel to Trump’s argument, however.  

The request is also part of an attempt by Republican lawmakers to ramp up pressure on the Justice Department’s No. 2 official – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – who is overseeing the special counsel’s Russia investigation. 

Nunes has previously accused Rosenstein of obstruction and has threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress or even force him out of his job. 

Democrats argue the GOP demands go far beyond Congress’s traditional oversight work and the Republicans’ goal is to undermine Mueller’s probe.

Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray are scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday morning, which means they’ll likely be on Capitol Hill around the time of the House vote.



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