A key informant in the Russian bribery and extortion scheme to gain
control of US atomic resources wants to tell Congress what he knows
—
but is legally barred from doing so. That’s the latest bombshell to
emerge from The Hill’s exposés this week that the Obama administration
knew all about the scheme yet still...
Moreover, the unidentified informant tried to tell his story by
filing a lawsuit during last year’s campaign — but was squelched by the
Obama Justice Department.
According to his lawyer, Reagan-era Justice official Victoria Toensing, the informant was pressured into signing a nondisclosure agreement that forbids him from revealing anything about the case and was threatened last year with criminal charges if he violated it.
And it’s pretty clear why: The Hill reports that the informant has info on Russian executives telling him how they facilitated Team Obama’s approval of the 2010 deal.
An even bigger bombshell: He also reportedly can testify about those same execs telling him how they sent millions to an entity assisting the Clinton Foundation when Hillary was secretary of state.
Yet this same informant was key to building a criminal case against Russian officials. A consultant for Moscow’s state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom, he went to the FBI in 2009 after company officials pressed him to engage in illegal activities. Working with the FBI, he made documented kickback payments.
Now Congress, spurred by The Hill’s reporting, wants to investigate — but can’t hear from the potential star witness, even behind closed doors.
This was a coverup with profound national-security as well as political implications. Congress has to get to the bottom of it — and the Trump Justice Department needs to lift the gag order.
According to his lawyer, Reagan-era Justice official Victoria Toensing, the informant was pressured into signing a nondisclosure agreement that forbids him from revealing anything about the case and was threatened last year with criminal charges if he violated it.
And it’s pretty clear why: The Hill reports that the informant has info on Russian executives telling him how they facilitated Team Obama’s approval of the 2010 deal.
An even bigger bombshell: He also reportedly can testify about those same execs telling him how they sent millions to an entity assisting the Clinton Foundation when Hillary was secretary of state.
Yet this same informant was key to building a criminal case against Russian officials. A consultant for Moscow’s state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom, he went to the FBI in 2009 after company officials pressed him to engage in illegal activities. Working with the FBI, he made documented kickback payments.
Now Congress, spurred by The Hill’s reporting, wants to investigate — but can’t hear from the potential star witness, even behind closed doors.
This was a coverup with profound national-security as well as political implications. Congress has to get to the bottom of it — and the Trump Justice Department needs to lift the gag order.
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