Murder, espionage, blackmail: What U.S. politicians heard about Russia affair
WASHINGTON — American lawmakers heard behind closed doors a gripping tale of international espionage, murder, organized crime, Russian blackmail and presidential politics by a political-research firm paid to dig up dirt on Donald Trump.
They heard allegations of someone being killed in connection with the 2016 campaign research effort against Trump; that muckrakers found financial irregularities in Trump properties after researching potential ties to criminals; and that a retired British spy working on the case felt it was his public duty to alert the FBI.
This private interrogation of the head of the Fusion GPS research firm was released in a transcript Tuesday, dumped onto the internet by a high-ranking Democrat who expressed frustration over how that material is being treated by her partisan adversaries.
Dianne Feinstein said she chose to release the transcript of the five-month-old hearing after sustained smears against the firm and the ex-British spy it employed. She accused Republicans of trying to protect the president and quash the Russia probe.