Conway on lifting FBI informant gag order: We should be interested ‘in what this person knows’
October 28, 2017 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway responded to reports that President Trump told aides to pressure the Justice Department to allow an FBI informant to testify before Congress on Friday by saying that Trump wants the truth to be revealed.
Conway told CNN’s “New Day” that the informant, who was involved in the FBI probe of corruption in the Russian energy sector during the Obama administration, should be free to speak with Congress, and that Trump was trying to expedite that process.
“He believes, as many others do, frankly, that the FBI informant should be free to say what he knows,” Conway said Friday. “We should all be interested in what this person knows.”
“It’s not unusual for a president to weigh in,” she added.
Trump and Republicans are demanding answers into a 2010 deal authorized by the Obama administration to sell a uranium mining company to Russia’s atomic energy agency, Rosatom. The deal was approved by the State Department, run at the time by Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBlumenthal: Trump-tied data firm reaching out to WikiLeaks ‘significant’ Tillerson eliminates key State Department sanctions office: report Intel Dem: What’s in dossier more important than who paid for it MORE. Trump has frequently accused Clinton of orchestrating a crooked deal to sell uranium to Russia.
On Friday, Conway targeted Clinton and her campaign for allegedly funding the production of an unverified dossier of allegations about Trump’s ties to Russia.
“Now, we are faced with the possibility — and it looks like the very real probability — the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and the Clinton campaign paid a foreign agent for information to try to smear Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpIntel Dem: What’s in dossier more important than who paid for it Overnight Tech: Twitter bans ads from Russian media | Dem says she was targeted by Russian bot | House Judiciary to hold hearing on net neutrality Democrats dig for Russian connection and uncover environmentalists MORE,” Conway said.
The FBI released the informant from his confidentiality agreement Wednesday night. Other Republicans including Sen. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyTrump talks NAFTA withdrawal with GOP senators Fractures emerging on Senate panel’s Russia probe The Hill’s 12:30 Report MORE (R-Iowa) have publicly called on the Justice Department to allow the informant to testify.
Fox News first reported that an order to release the former informant from the confidentiality agreement came from Trump himself; however, other sources told the network the decision was ultimately made by senior Justice Department officials.
“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,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said Thursday.
