Page 103 of the Bruce Ohr transcript:
Quote:
Mr. Meadows. He can finish the answer, but at the same time I want to make sure that we're shooting straight here. You're saying that Glenn Simpson gave you a thumb drive and didn't suggest what was on it or anything else and said give it to the FBI, and your curiosity was not piqued?
Mr. Ohr. I think I assumed it was the dossier, but he did not say that.
Mr. Meadows. Why did you assume it was the dossier?
Mr. Ohr. This was in December. The rest of the conversation had to do with additional information that he had gathered about the possible connections between the Russian Government and the Trump campaign, and he gives me a thumb drive. I think the natural assumption at that point -- I had not seen the dossier. I had heard there was such a thing as a dossier, but I hadn't seen it. So he gives me a thumb drive. I assumed this was the dossier.
Page 124 of the Bruce Ohr transcript:
Quote:
Mr. Ohr. I provided information to the FBI when I thought Christopher Steele was, as I said, desperate that Trump not be elected. So, yes, of course, I provided that to the FBI.
Mr. Ratcliffe. Yes. And so were the Department of Justice and THE FBI also aware of Glenn Simpson's bias against Donald Trump?
Mr. Ohr. I certainly told the FBI that Fusion GPS was working with -- doing opposition research on Donald Trump.
Pages 213-14 of the Bruce Ohr transcript:
Quote:
Mr. Jordan. Cathleen Cavilick.
Mr. Ohr. Yes.
Mr. Jordan. Why is she included in this stuff?
Mr. Ohr. She is an official at the State Department and she had also, I believe, spoken with Chris Steele at some point. And whatever I had from her, I gave to the Department as well, because I thought it related to the same subject matter.
Mr. Jordan. Were there notes about this? Did you take notes about Cathleen Cavilick that we don't have that you gave to the FBI?
Mr. Ohr. I don't think so. I would have reported that conversation to the FBI as well, but I don't believe I have any separate notes on that.
Mr. Jordan. Anyone else at the State Department that you talked to about these matters?
Mr. Ohr. No, not that I can recall.
Couple of things I picked up in going over the Bruce Ohr transcripts. It wasn't only Nellie Ohr who gave Bruce a thumb drive to give to the FBI, Glenn Simpson also gave him one. Then notice that Ratcliff gets Bruce to really spill the beans on 'opposition research'. And then there is the State Department rearing its ugly head again...another channel to pass info to the FBI through Bruce.
A number of times during the hearing, Repubs ask why was it necessary to use Bruce Ohr as a back channel to pass info to the FBI from Steele since Steele had his own FBI handler (Gaeta) plus he was under contract with the FBI...no one provides an answer. I think I have a plausible one: With Ohr giving his info to the FBI where it was recorded on 302s, those 302s could be manipulated to make it appear they were independent verification of Steele's reports, that same trick with circular verification they used in Page's FISA where they used Isikoff's newspaper article (using info from Steele) to verify Steele's reports. If I am correct, Ohr's 302s in some form will appear in the FISA renewals.