Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says the Justice Department should lift a "gag order" on an FBI informant who spoke out against Russian nuclear officials' bribery attempts and was allegedly "threatened" by the previous administration.
"The Executive Branch does not have the authority to use non-disclosure agreements to avoid Congressional scrutiny," Grassley wrote to the Justice Department, according to the Washington Examiner. "If the FBI is allowed to contract itself out of Congressional oversight, it would seriously undermine our Constitutional system of checks and balances. The Justice Department needs to work with the Committee to ensure that witnesses are free to speak without fear, intimidation or retaliation from law enforcement."
Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to lawyer Victoria Toensing, who represents the unidentified witness, asking to interview her client about the Uranium One deal approved by President Barack Obama's administration.
Toensing told The Hill that her client was threatened by officials from the Justice Department after his attempt to disclose information about alleged corruption by Russian nuclear officials.
"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," Grassley wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Hill. "Such information is critical to the Committee's oversight of the Justice Department."
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