A Fusion GPS contractor who provided her Department of Justice (DOJ) husband with research about President Donald Trump and Russia has received a criminal referral from congressional Republicans.
Nellie Ohr provided her husband, Bruce Ohr, with research she had done on behalf of Fusion GPS, which Bruce then passed on to the FBI. The criminal referral, sent Wednesday night from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), suggests Nellie lied to congress when she testified before the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in October 2018.
Nellie testified at that time that she “would not have any knowledge of what [was] going on in an ongoing investigation” at the DOJ nor would she “have any knowledge of the Department of Justice’s investigations on Russia.” She also testified that she didn’t share her research with anyone besides her employer, her husband, or ex-British Intelligence Officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the infamous dossier on Trump that was shown to be not credible by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Meadows wrote in his criminal referral that “documents reviewed by our committees raise concerns Ms. Ohr not only had knowledge of an ongoing DOJ investigation, but that she shared information and research on Russian organized crime to assist DOJ, in direct contradiction with her testimony.”
“For example, in March 2016, DOJ official Lisa Holtyn sent Bruce Ohr an email asking if Nellie would be able to speak with Ivana Nizich and Joe Wheatley to discuss her research as part of an ongoing investigation as she was told ‘Nellie might be a great resource,’” Meadows continued. “When Mr. Ohr checked if Nellie would feel comfortable speaking with DOJ, Nellie emailed ‘Sure!’”
Nellie also shared her research to the people named above and other DOJ officials, counter to her testimony.
As John Solomon wrote at The Hill, Nellie regularly emailed her husband with information regarding her research into Russian organized crime and alleged connections to Trump and his campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
“Hi Honey, if you ever get a moment you might find the penultimate article interesting — especially the summary in the final paragraph,” Nellie wrote in one email quoted by Solomon.
In another email, Nellie wrote: “If Putin wanted to concoct the ideal candidate to service his purposes, his laboratory creation would look like Donald Trump.”
Solomon wrote that “such overt political content flowing into the email accounts of a DOJ charged with the nonpartisan mission of prosecuting crimes is jarring enough.” He added that the emails raise “additional questions about potential conflicts of interest when it is being injected by a spouse working as a Democratic contractor trying to defeat Trump, and she is forwarding her own research to her husband’s department and co-workers.”
The emails from Nellie to her husband, which were released following a Freedom of Information Act request from conservative government watchdog Judicial Watch, may also cause a headache for Bruce Ohr.
Bruce made no mention of the emails in his closed-door testimony to congress on August 28, 2018. Then-Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) told Bruce: “If I heard you correctly, there was one occasion where she provided information to you.” Bruce responded, “That is correct.”
Bruce was referring to a “memory stick” Nellie gave him at some point in 2016 that she wanted turned over to the FBI.
Gowdy further pressed Bruce on whether there were any previous conversations about the FBI’s Russia investigation.
“Well, all marriages are different, so I’m trying to envision this cold start to a conversation with Here, honey, here’s a thumb drive,” Gowdy said. “There were no conversations before that?”
Bruce responded by saying Nellie was with him when he first met with Steele.
Later in his testimony, Bruce says he “had some conversations” with his wife about the Russia investigation, but the emails released by Judicial Watch never come up, giving the impression that Bruce downplayed the interactions between him and his wife regarding the Russian investigation.
The Daily Wire previously reported that House Republicans believe the new documents revealed may help an investigation into how the Trump-Russia collusion narrative began.