The following is from Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to prosecute Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr for lying to Congress about her role in advancing the FBI and DOJ’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, according to a newly declassified internal FBI analysis.

The 2019 analysis, obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and declassified at the chairman’s request, contains evidence that Ohr provided false testimony under oath. Her actions, according to the memo, obstructed ongoing congressional investigations and violated federal statutes 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and 18 U.S.C § 1505. The document further states that the FBI blocked its own agents from reviewing all relevant materials to fully analyze the scope of Ohr’s false statements and involvement in the discredited Trump-Russia investigation.

“By lying to Congress, Nellie Ohr showed contempt for congressional oversight and the American people. What’s more, the FBI and DOJ’s failure to hold Ohr accountable for appearing to commit multiple felonies and its obstructive conduct against agents that sought additional information reveals the agencies’ deeply disturbing political bias. Ohr never suffered consequences for advancing the phony Trump-Russia narrative and attempting to cover up her involvement in the hoax. Yet time and again, the American justice system has been weaponized against President Trump and his associates with reckless abandon.

The DOJ’s inaction on Nellie Ohr’s criminal referral – despite the obviously incriminating evidence provided in the FBI’s own analysis – undermines public trust in the rule of law. I applaud Director Patel, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche for cooperating with my request to declassify this information, which is in the public’s interest, and chart a new course for transparency and accountability at the FBI and DOJ.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley

Background

Nellie Ohr was employed by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS from 2015 to 2016 to perform open-source research attempting to connect then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to Russian organized crime. This work was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Both groups later settled with the Federal Election Commission over allegations they intentionally misreported the purpose of those payments.

At the time, Nellie Ohr’s husband, Bruce Ohr, was an Associate Deputy Attorney General at DOJ. Both testified before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees in 2018 during their review of the FBI’s now-discredited 2016 Trump-Russia investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane.

In 2019, then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) filed a criminal referral asserting that Nellie Ohr knowingly gave false testimony to Congress.

Key findings from the 2019 FBI analysis:

• Nellie Ohr may have falsely testified to Congress that she had no knowledge of the DOJ’s Trump-Russia investigation (pg. 13).
  • Nellie Ohr gave a thumb drive containing her Fusion GPS work to her husband, Bruce Ohr, which he then provided to the FBI as part of its ongoing investigation (pg. 14).  
  • Nellie Ohr’s email traffic shows she emailed her Russian investigative research directly to Bruce Ohr. Nellie’s research closely mirrored the DOJ and FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation (pgs. 15-16). 
  • Bruce Ohr only shared information with the FBI relating to the Trump-Russia investigation after receiving it from his wife, Nellie Ohr (pgs. 15-17). 
  • Nellie Ohr and Bruce Ohr met personally with British intelligence officer and Fusion GPS contractor, Christopher Steele, in 2016 (pg. 21). 
  • Fusion GPS pitched Nellie Ohr’s research to the Department of State (DOS) for additional investigation, per DOS emails (pg. 23). 
  • Nellie Ohr deleted emails with Russia-focused DOJ prosecutors, indicating an effort to conceal her exchanges with DOJ officials involved in the Trump-Russia investigation (pg. 24). 
• Nellie Ohr may have been involved in drafting aspects of the Steele Dossier and conspired with her husband, Bruce Ohr, to ensure high-level FBI officials received her work product, while Fusion GPS coordinated with media entities to legitimize the FBI’s opening of its now discredited Trump-Russia investigation. 
• Nellie Ohr may have falsely testified to Congress that she was not involved in drafting the Steele Dossier (pgs. 25-28).
  • Nellie Ohr made an analytical error in her own research identical to that in the Steele Dossier (pgs. 29-30). 
  • A report deleted from a thumb drive owned by Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and provided to the FBI via Bruce Ohr contained the same subject matter researched by Nellie Ohr (pg. 31-33). 
• In direct contradiction to her congressional testimony, Nellie Ohr disseminated Fusion GPS research to DOJ prosecutors beyond those identified in her testimony (pg. 33).
  • Nellie Ohr repeatedly sent information to the following DOJ officials: Lisa Holtyn, Ivana Nizich, Joseph Wheatley (pgs. 34-37). 
• In direct contradiction to her congressional testimony, Nellie Ohr took six ham radio classes and an exam during her time as a Fusion GPS employee (pg. 37). Ham radios can facilitate international communication without the use of a cell signal.
  • Nellie Ohr claimed her ham radio training occurred before she was employed by Fusion GPS. However, per records from the Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department and Federal Communications Commission, Nellie Ohr’s entire ham radio training occurred between March to May 2016, while working at Fusion GPS. 
• Nellie Ohr may have been involved in the “Alfa dossier,” an additional sham document attempting to connect Trump to Russian crime (pg. 40). 

Read the full unclassified FBI analysis on Nellie Ohr here.