WASHINGTON (CN) - The House Intelligence Committee urged a federal judge Monday to authorize its subpoena targeting the political-research firm that sponsored a salacious dossier on President Donald Trump.
Commissioned by the Washington firm Fusion GPS before the 2016 election, the dossier put together by former British intelligent agent Christopher Steele claims that the Russian government has several years’ worth of compromising information on Trump. Claims such as that the Russians have a “pee tape” of Trump have not been verified, but several national-intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russia tried to interfere in the election to ensure Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton.
The Republican-led House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed top Fusion officials, but partners Peter Fritsch and Thomas Catan invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a closed-door hearing last week.
Days later, Fusion brought a federal complaint in Washington to quash a subpoena of its bank by Congressman David Nunes, the California Republican who chairs the Intelligence Committee.
The House Office of General Counsel intervened in the case over the weekend and argued in an Oct. 23 opposition brief that Fusion lacks a legal rationale for blocking the subpoena.
"The fact that Plaintiff does not approve of the Committee’s investigation, the Chairman’s role in issuing the subpoena, or the Committee’s efforts to obtain relevant information does not create a legal rationale for this Court to grant the relief sought," the 54-page brief states.
Signed by General Counsel Thomas Hungar, the opposition brief says that the committee wants to understand all aspects of the Trump dossier, such as who paid for it, who received it, and what steps were taken to corroborate its content.
The committee also wants to know whether the FBI relied on the dossier in its counterintelligence investigation of Russian election meddling.
"The key to answering many of these questions lies with information in the possession of Plaintiff, as well as records of one or more Fusion accounts at Defendant Bank," the brief states.
Referencing a June 9, 2016, meeting between at Trump Tower between three Russian individuals and Donald Trump Jr., the committee also says it has obtained information suggesting that the Russians and Fusion are linked.
"Based on this information, the Committee’s investigation seeks to investigate the extent of those ties and the potential relationship to the Russian active measures campaign," the brief says.
Attorneys for Fusion with the firms Zuckerman Spaeder and Cunningham Levy Muse declined to comment on the case beyond what’s contained in Fusion’s Oct. 23 reply brief.
There, Fusion disputes the understanding the committee says it seeks in relation to the dossier.