USA News

Nunes: Major Irregularities In State Departments Handling Of Trump-Russia Info

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman provided an update on Sunday of the panels investigation into what he says are “major irregularities” at the State Department regarding its handling of information about President Donald Trumps campaign.

California Rep. and Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nuness investigators are looking into the State Departments handling of information about George Papadopoulos, the Trump campaign adviser whose discussions about Hillary Clinton emails are what led the FBI to open its counterintelligence investigation in July 2016, the chairman suggested when he appeared on Fox News.

“We are investigating the State Department. We think there are some major irregularities at the State Department, and were trying to figure out how it is that this information about Mr. Papadopoulos of all people, who was supposedly meeting with some folks in London, how that made it over across into the FBIs hands,” Nunes told Maria Bartiromo, the host of “Sunday Morning Futures.”

,@DevinNunes: “We do know that longtime associates of @HillaryClinton, including Sidney Blumenthal and another person named, I think, Cody Shearer, were actively giving information to the @StateDept that was somehow making its way to the @FBI.” #SundayFutures@MariaBartiromopic.twitter.com/nUw5gIHCB7

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 22, 2018

The Intelligence Committee is investigating the State Departments involvement in handling the infamous Steele dossier, Nunes has said in the past. But there had been no indication the State Department might be involved in anything related to Papadopoulos, an energy consultant who pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to the FBI about contacts he had with a mysterious Maltese professor, Joseph Mifsud.

The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation on July 31, 2016, after receiving information from the Australian government. Two months earlier, Papadopoulos met in London with Alexander Downer, the top Australian diplomat to the United Kingdom. Papadopoulos told Downer about a Russian plan to disseminate stolen Clinton emails, the Australian diplomat reportedly claims.

Papadopoulos has acknowledged he was told about stolen Clinton emails during an April 26, 2016, meeting in London with Mifsud, who then worked as a professor.

It remains unclear whether Papadopoulos told anyone on the Trump campaign about Mifsuds claims about emails. The 30-year-old energy consultant is cooperating with the special counsels office as part of his plea deal.

The Intelligence Committee was looking into the State Departments handling of the Steele dossier, the salacious and unverified document former British spy Christopher Steele authored, Nunes announced in January.

“We do know that longtime associates of Hillary Clinton, including Sidney Blumenthal and another person named, I think, Cody Shearer, were actively giving information to the State Department that was somehow making its way to the FBI,” Nunes said.

It recently emerged that former State Department official Jonathan Winer met with Steele during the 2016 campaign to discuss the ex-spys investigation of Trumps alleged ties to Russia.

Winer, who served as special envoy to Libya at the time, wrote up a two-page summary of Steeles allegations and shared them with other State Department officials, including then-Sec. of State John Kerry.

Winer also handled information from Blumenthal, a notorious Clinton-world fixer who the Obama White House blocked from joining the Clinton State Department.

Blumenthal gave Winer two memos compiled by Cody Shearer, another Clinton acolyte. Shearers reports contained similar allegations to those found in Steeles reports, including the claim Russias government had blackmail material on Trump. Winer shared the unverified document with Steele, who in turn gave it to the FBI.

Follow Chuck on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

[contf]
[contfnew]

The daily caller

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Posts