Tag: Chuck Grassley

Five takeaways from the Fusion GPS testimony

The following article by Katie Bo WIlliams and Jonathan Easley was posted on the Hill website January 10, 2018:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday unilaterally released more than 300 pages documenting an interview the panel conducted in August with the founder of the opposition research firm that commissioned a controversial dossier on President Trump.

In that interview, Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson said the dossier’s author, a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele, told him that the FBI already had “other intelligence” backing up claims in the dossier when he met with an agent in September. Continue reading “Five takeaways from the Fusion GPS testimony”

Read the full transcript of Glenn Simpson’s Senate testimony

Earlier today, Sen. Diane Feinstein released the transcript of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 10-hour testimony Mr. Simpson of Fusion GPS regarding their Russia dossier.

The New York Times has posted that testimony.  Here’s a link to it if you’d like to read it.

Senior Republican refers Trump-Russia dossier author for possible charges

The following article by Devlin Barrett and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website January 5, 2018:

Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, shown in London in March. (Victoria Jones/PA Images/AP)

The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended Friday that the Justice Department investigate for possible criminal charges the author of the now-famous dossier alleging the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.

The move by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) marks a major escalation in conservatives’ challenges to the FBI’s credibility as the agency investigates whether any Trump associates committed crimes. Another Republican, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), joined in the letter to the Justice Department.

Their letter makes what is called a criminal referral to the Justice Department, suggesting it investigate the dossier’s author, former British spy Christopher Steele, for possibly lying to the FBI. It is a crime to lie to FBI agents about a material fact relevant to an ongoing investigation. Continue reading “Senior Republican refers Trump-Russia dossier author for possible charges”

It’s Not Just Romney: Hatch Retirement Could Lead to Decisions for Grassley, Crapo

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website January 2 2018:

Judiciary chairman appears to have time left as leader of Finance panel

Sens Charles E. Grassley and Orrin G. Hatch have served alongside each other at the Finance and Judiciary committees. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call file photo)

When GOP Sen. Orrin G. Hatch announced Tuesday that he will retire from the Senate after serving Utah for more than four decades, talk quickly turned to whether Mitt Romney will seek to succeed him.

But on Capitol Hill, the pending departure of the Finance Committee chairman — who could have wielded the tax writing gavel for two more years under conference rules — also raises questions about which senator will lead the GOP on taxes, trade, health care and entitlements. Continue reading “It’s Not Just Romney: Hatch Retirement Could Lead to Decisions for Grassley, Crapo”

House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI

The following article by Kyle Cheney and John Bresnahan was posted on the Politico website December 20, 2017:

The group was born out of frustration over the Justice Department’s refusal to explain how it used a disputed dossier.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who previously had recused himself from the panel’s Russia investigation, arrives ahead of White House Senior Advisor and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s interview on Capitol Hill on July 25. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A group of House Republicans has gathered secretly for weeks in the Capitol in an effort to build a case that senior leaders of the Justice Department and FBI improperly — and perhaps criminally — mishandled the contents of a dossier that describes alleged ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, according to four people familiar with their plans.

A subset of the Republican members of the House intelligence committee, led by Chairman Devin Nunes of California, has been quietly working parallel to the committee’s high-profile inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. They haven’t informed Democrats about their plans, but they have consulted with the House’s general counsel. Continue reading “House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI”

Sen. Chuck Grassley has no idea how wealth works

The following article by Ian Millhiser was posted on the Think Progress website December 4, 2017:

CREDIT: AP PHOTO/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) defended his vote to give a significant tax cut to dead rich people this weekend by suggesting that people who do not die wealthy blew too much of their money on leisure pursuits.

“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” Grassley told the Des Moines Register in a statement that was published on Saturday, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

That’s a lot of sex, liquor, and cinema. Under current law, estates up to $5.49 million for an individual or nearly $11 million for a married couple are not taxed. The Senate tax bill that Grassley voted for would double this exemption to about $11 million for individuals and $22 million for married couples. According to the Washington Post, only about 1,800 families a year will pay the estate tax under the bill Grassley supported. Continue reading “Sen. Chuck Grassley has no idea how wealth works”