Over the weekend Matt brought you the news that the Department of Justice Inspector General report into FISA abuse and the origins of the Russian investigation has been postponed due to additional witnesses coming forward with testimony.
One of those witnesses was British Spy Christopher Steele. As a reminder, Steele was paid by the DNC and the Clinton campaign to dig up dirt on President Trump with Fusion GPS. He was tasked with creating a dirty dossier that was then submitted to the FBI and used as part of their investigation into President Trump and his associates. The dossier was political propaganda and fueled with information from Russians seeking to harm the 2016 presidential election.
Former House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy is applauding DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz for including Steele in his investigation.
"[I'm] Pleasantly surprised. The only way Michael Horowitz can issue the kind of report that he wants to issue that we would benefit from is to interview every single witness. I cannot imagine a more seminal witness than Christopher Steele so kudos to them for going to Europe and interviwing him because they certainly couldn't make him come here," Gowdy said during an interview on Fox News.
According to reporting from Fox News, Steele didn't want to be "thrown under the bus" in the final report"Based on our reporting, the former British spy Christopher Steele was concerned he would get 'thrown under the bus' in the Inspector General’s report and the appointment of U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe ramped up the pressure on Steele to a cooperate. Fox News first reported that a key witness outside the FBI and Justice Department had agreed to talk to the inspector general Michael E. Horowitz at the 11th hour and that it now appears to be Steele. Reuters broke news that he was interviewed in the U.K. in June by three lawyers from the Inspector General’s office," Fox News' Catherine Herridge reported.
A timeline on the release of Horowitz report is not known but has been delayed.