Two Republican senators are renewing their inquiry into reports that Democrats worked with Ukraine to obtain dirt on then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election, according to a letter to Attorney General William Barr released on Monday.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI), in a September 27 letter to Barr, asked for additional information related to the Democratic National Committee (DNC)’s reported efforts to work with Ukraine to seek dirt on and undermine then-candidate Donald Trump.
Grassley and Johnson wrote in the letter:
Ukrainian efforts, abetted by a U.S. political party, to interfere in the 2016 election should not be ignored. Such allegations of corruption deserve due scrutiny, and the American people have a right to know when foreign forces attempt to undermine our democratic processes.
Their letter follows a previous July 2017 letter from Grassley, then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, to the DOJ referencing reports that then-DNC contractor Alexandra Chalupa worked with the Ukrainian government to obtain opposition research on Trump during the 2016 election.
Grassley cited a January 2017 Politico report that said, “Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump,” and “helped Clinton’s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers.”
In addition, Grassley and Johnson asked whether the Justice Department has acquired information from Ukrainian prosecutors that may contradict Vice President Joe Biden’s claim that he pressured Ukraine to fire its chief prosecutor because he was corrupt, and not because he was investigating a company in Ukraine that hired his son based on a report.
According to a press release on their letter:
A report yesterday revealed new documents that call into question the stated reasons behind a 2016 ultimatum by then Vice-President Biden to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor who had investigated a company for which Biden’s son was a board member. According to the report, Ukrainian officials have tried to forward documents related to the matter to the department, to no avail. Grassley and Johnson are requesting details on any actions the department is taking to review the material referenced in the report,” according to a press release on their letter.
Barr is reviewing the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s investigation into the Trump campaign for alleged Russia collusion.
Grassley and Johnson asked in their Friday letter whether the DOJ has begun an investigation into coordination between the Ukrainian government and individuals associated with the Clinton campaign or the DNC.
They asked for a response by October 14.
Here is a copy of Grassley and Johnson’s letter:
Grassley, Johnson Renew Inquiry into DOJ Actions on Reported Election Meddling by Kristina Wong on Scribd
Chalupa responded in a tweet Monday that alleged Grassley had a “close relationship” with Manafort and that his adviser, Barbara Ledeen, was a good friend of former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Follow Breitbart News’ @Kristina_Wong.
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