OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to the Hon. Jeff Sessions, Attorney General - Grassley Seeks Information from FBI Informant in Uranium One Probe

Letter

Date: Oct. 18, 2017
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Affairs Government Operations

Dear Attorney General Sessions:

On October 12, 2017, I wrote to several agencies, including the Department of Justice, regarding the Uranium One/Rosatom transaction that was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) during the Obama administration. In that letter, I noted that the Department had an ongoing criminal investigation into Rosatom officials during the CFIUS approval process and asked, among other things, whether CFIUS was informed of that criminal matter.

On October 18, 2017, The Hill reported that "[a]n American businessman . . . worked for years undercover as an FBI confidential witness" to assist in the Department's criminal investigation.[1] According to the reporting, the confidential witness "was asked by the FBI to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents him from revealing what he knows to Congress."[2] Further, the witness' attorney said, "the Obama Justice Department threatened him with loss of freedom. They said they would bring a criminal case against him for violating an NDA."[3]

These restrictions appear to improperly prevent the individual from making critical, good faith disclosures to Congress of potential wrongdoing. They also purport to limit the Committee's access to information it needs to fulfill its constitutional responsibility of oversight. This Committee has oversight jurisdiction of the Justice Department, and if this NDA does in fact exist, it hinders the Committee's ability to do its job. Accordingly, please provide a copy of the NDA by November 1, 2017. In addition, should the NDA exist, I request that you release him from it and pledge not to engage in any form of retaliation against him for good faith communications with Congress.

Should you have further questions, please contact Josh Flynn-Brown or DeLisa Lay of my Committee staff at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary


Source
arrow_upward