Two Republican Senators have sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department asking it to look into whether a former British intelligence officer made false statements to the FBI about the way information that he compiled about Russian meddling in our election was distributed. The officer is Christopher Steele and the senators are Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham.
Grassley and Graham want the Justice Department to look into communications between Christopher Steele and US news outlets regarding the information that Steele compiled in the eponymous “Steele dossier,” to see if any laws were broken. But a separate press release from the Senate Judiciary Committee – both senators are members – said the referral is not intended to be an allegation of a crime.
It’s also not exactly clear why the Justice Department would not have charged Steele with a crime if they found any wrongdoing. The FBI has been investigating matters relating to information contained in the controversial dossier for more than a year.
There is speculation as to whether the referral is more PR move than legal action. Criminal referrals are only considered important if they bring to the DOJ’s attention illegal activity that they it had previously been unaware of. “I cannot understand why it would be necessary for members of Congress to make a criminal referral to the FBI concerning information we know the FBI already has, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said.