A Department of Justice official who acted as a conduit between the FBI and anti-Trump opposition received a massive bonus during the counterintelligence investigation into whether the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to steal the election.
Bruce Ohr, who was eventually demoted due to a conflict of interest, was paid $28,000 in performance bonuses in November 2016, nearly double the $14,520 he had received in November 2015.
The revelation comes from documents obtained by conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information relating to Ohr’s compensation back in January 2018, after Ohr was transferred from his new position as director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force to his current role as counselor for the Office of International Affair’s Criminal Division. The move included a $2,600 a year raise.
While working as a conduit between the FBI and Christopher Steele, who was paid by Democrat opposition research firm Fusion GPS (who was in turn hired by law firm Perkins Coin on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee) to compile a “dossier” that was damaging to Trump, Ohr received a yearly salary of $187,000 as associate deputy attorney general.
“These documents will raise questions as to whether the conflicted Bruce Ohr, who the FBI used to launder information from Christopher Steele was rewarded for his role in the illicit targeting of President Trump,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement about the released documents.
Ohr provided information to the FBI not only on behalf of Steele, but on behalf of his wife, Nellie, who worked for Fusion GPS. Ohr also personally met with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS. Steele’s completed dossier comprised salacious and uncorroborated claims, many of which were debunked by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. None have been proven true.
Ohr’s connection to Steele worked as a back channel between the former FBI informant and the FBI. Steele’s relationship with the FBI was cut off after the Bureau discovered he made unauthorized leaks to the media, but continued to work with him through Bruce Ohr.
Though he was paid handsomely, Ohr may be in some legal or professional trouble soon, as the DOJ Inspector General and Attorney General conduct separate investigations into the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign.
As The Daily Wire reported previously, Nellie Ohr’s emails to Bruce may cause trouble for the latter. Congressional Republicans referred Nellie Ohr for criminal investigation after emails from her to her husband were revealed previously by Judicial Watch that contradicted her congressional testimony. Nellie’s emails also contradicted Bruch Ohr’s testimony.
Bruce claimed that Nellie only provided him information about Russian interference on one occasion, but her emails make clear she continuously sent him emails with such information.
While the latest documents reveal bonuses to Bruce Ohr, one must wonder whether the government paid Nellie Ohr for her Fusion GPS-related information. Nellie Ohr previously worked as a contractor for the CIA, and one has to wonder whether she was compensated by the Agency for her information.