The Department of Justice (DOJ) released its confidential informant in the Russian bribery scheme case — tied to the Uranium One deal — from a confidentiality agreement that the Obama administration allegedly forced him to sign, clearing him to testify before Congress.
DOJ spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores told The Hill on Wednesday that the confidential informant is now cleared to testify before Congress — nearly eight years after he went undercover for the FBI:
As of tonight, the Department of Justice has authorized the informant to disclose to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as one member of each of their staffs, any information or documents he has concerning alleged corruption or bribery involving transactions in the uranium market, including but not limited to anything related to Vadim Mikerin, Rosatom, Tenex, Uranium One, or the Clinton Foundation.
He will now have the opportunity to tell Congress what he witnessed as an informant regarding the efforts by the Russian nuclear industry to try to secure a deal from the Obama administration.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) asked Victoria Toensing — the informant’s lawyer — to allow her client to testify before Congress about the FBI’s investigation into Russian nuclear official’s bribery scheme which revealed “bribery, kickbacks, money laundering, and extortion.”
The Hill further noted that “the informant was unable to provide answers to lawmakers’ recent inquiries because he had signed a nondisclosure agreement with the bureau. He also was forced by the Justice Department in 2016 to withdraw a lawsuit that threatened to call attention to the case during last year’s presidential election.”
Toensing confirmed to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that her client was told that the findings of the FBI’s investigation into Russian nuclear officials — which revealed crime — was shared with President Obama at the time.
“My client was told this information,” Toensing said. “Now whether the Bureau was bluffing, I don’t think so, because they were very specific, they said ‘the briefing made it into President Obama’s daily briefing papers,’ so I don’t think they made that up.”
