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Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, claimed the spousal privilege on Friday to avoid certain House Republicans' questions about the controversial anti-Trump case.
While describing it as a cooperative in its voluntary appearance, Republican and Democratic lawmakers told Fox News that Ohr had taken the spousal privilege, which, according to Republicans, did not allow them to ask questions salacious file and how this file had been submitted to the FBI. .
Nellie Ohr worked for Fusion GPS, the research group that commissioned the file.
Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, has invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions in a separate appearance before Congressional investigators in front of Capitol Hill. Bruce Ohr has already testified about his contacts with Simpson during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The record, written by former British spy Christopher Steele and commissioned by GPS Fusion, was paid by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton 's presidential campaign through the Cabinet of Commons. Perkins Coie lawyers. He included salacious and unverified allegations regarding Trump's visit to Russia before he was president, and became a focal point as lawmakers investigate the origins of the investigation in Russia.
The role of the Ohrs has also become a key element of Republican congressional investigators, who are investigating the origin of the FBI's investigation of Russia. They alleged in a FISA memo from the House Intelligence Committee of January 2018 that Ohr was the referral channel for Steele after being fired by the office in November 2016 for his contacts with the media.
GLENN SIMPSON, FUSION GPS, PLACE 5E AT CAPITOL HILL AT THE HEART OF QUESTIONS ON THE DOSSIER
Previously, Bruce Ohr had spoken to the FBI about his wife's work for Fusion GPS, as well as his reservations about the credibility of Steele's document and animation for the then-candidate, Donald Trump. However, this information was not disclosed to the Foreign Intelligence Oversight Court when the file was used to obtain a warrant for Carter Page, the Trump campaign assistant at the time.
Congressional Republicans contend that the record was inappropriately used to obtain this warrant and its subsequent renewals.
Adam Shaw and Alex Pappas of Fox News contributed to this report.
