Letter to Victoria Toensing, diGenova & Toensing, LLP - Grassley Seeks Information from FBI Informant in Uranium One Probe

Letter

Dear Ms. Toensing:

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 you represent a confidential informant used by the FBI during its criminal investigation into Rosatom employees connected to the CFIUS transaction.[4] Reporting indicates that "the informant's work was crucial to the government's ability to crack a multimillion dollar racketeering scheme by Russian nuclear officials on U.S. soil" and that the scheme involved "bribery, kickbacks, money laundering, and extortion."[5] Further, the reporting indicates that your client can testify that "FBI agents made comments to him suggesting political pressure was exerted during the Justice Department probe" and "that there was specific evidence that could have scuttled approval of the Uranium One deal."[6]

It appears that your client possesses unique information about the Uranium One/Rosatom transaction and how the Justice Department handled the criminal investigation into the Russian criminal conspiracy. Such information is critical to the Committee's oversight of the Justice Department and its ongoing inquiry into the manner in which CFIUS approved the transaction. Accordingly, the Committee requests to interview your client. Please contact Committee staff by October 25, 2017, to arrange the interview.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

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