Secretive search for man behind Trump dossier reveals tension in Russia inquiry
Source: The Guardian
Secretive search for man behind Trump dossier reveals tension in Russia inquiry
Attempt by two congressional staffers to contact former MI6 officer highlights fight for control over House intelligence committees investigation
Julian Borger in Washington
Tuesday 8 August 2017 01.48 BST
Two US congressional staffers who travelled to London in July and tried to contact former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, were sent by a longstanding aide to Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House intelligence committee and a close ally of the White House.
The trip has brought back to the surface a continuing struggle for control of the committees investigation into Moscows role in the 2016 US election. The reliability of a dossier compiled by Steele, containing explosive allegations of extensive secret collusion between Trump and the Kremlin, is a key part of that investigation.
The two staffers turned up unannounced at Steeles lawyers offices while the former MI6 officer was in the building, according to a report by Politico on Friday. But the committees leading Democrat, Adam Schiff, said on Sunday neither he nor his Republican counterpart had been informed about the staffers London trip.
A congressional official insisted, however, that the staffers were in London on official committee business. He said they had been told to make contact with Steeles lawyers, rather than Steele himself.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/07/donald-trump-russia-dossier-christopher-steele-devin-nunes