Senators demand DOJ turn over results of probe into Democrat collusion

President Trump aboard Air Force One (Official White House photo)

Two U.S. senators are asking the FBI and the Justice Department to turn over records from an investigation into the Democratic National Committee's alleged use of foreign government sources during the 2016 election "to undermine the Trump campaign."

The letter from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, is addressed to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The letter states that if certain reports are accurate, "it appears that the DOJ and FBI have in their possession material relevant to our committees' ongoing investigation into collusive actions [Democratic activist Alexandra] Chalupa and the DNC took to use foreign government sources to undermine the Trump campaign during the 2016 election."

The letter seeks records regarding FBI and DOJ interviews with Chalupa and records from her laptop and smartphone

The senators write: "On September 27, 2019, we wrote a letter to the Justice Department based on Senator Grassley's July 20, 2017, letter which highlighted brazen efforts by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton campaign to use the government of Ukraine for the express purpose of finding negative information on then-candidate Trump in order to undermine his campaign. That letter also highlighted news reports that, during the 2016 presidential election, 'Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump' and did so by 'disseminat[ing] documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggest[ing] they were investigating the matter[.]' Ukrainian officials also reportedly 'helped Clinton's allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers.'

"At the center of this plan was Alexandra Chalupa, described by reports as a Ukrainian-American operative 'who was consulting for the Democratic National Committee' and who reportedly met with Ukrainian officials during the presidential election for the express purpose of exposing alleged ties between then-candidate Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, and Russia. Another Ukrainian embassy official, Andrii Telizhenko, told Politico that Oksana Shulyar, a senior Ukrainian government official, instructed him to assist Chalupa with research to connect Trump, Manafort, and the Russians. He reportedly said, '[t]hey were coordinating an investigation with the Hillary team on Paul Manafort with Alexandra Chalupa' and that 'Oksana [Shulyar] was keeping it all quiet ... the embassy worked very closely with" Chalupa.

Telizhenko reportedly stated: "[Chalupa] said the DNC wanted to collect evidence that Trump, his organization and Manafort were Russian assets, working to hurt the U.S. and working with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin against the U.S. interests. She indicated if we could find the evidence they would introduce it in Congress in September and try to build a case that Trump should be removed from the ballot, from the election."

The senators continue: "According to an October 24, 2016, news article, while working for the DNC, Chalupa noticed that she had potentially been subject to a 'state sponsored cyberattack.' The report indicates that it was an 'early sign' of the reported cyberattack on the DNC. The alleged cyberattack against her happened while she was reportedly trying to find dirt on Manafort and Trump in order to undermine his presidential campaign. After the reported cyberattack, reports indicate that 'FBI agents [] questioned Chalupa - and imaged her laptop and smartphone - as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the Russian cyberattacks.'"

Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson reported the issue is "a reported scheme by Democrats to get 'dirt' on the Trump campaign from Ukraine in 2016."

She explained, "According to reporting in Politico in 2017, the alleged efforts by Democrats and Ukraine to 'sabotage' the Trump campaign in 2016 did impact the race, even though Trump won in the end."

Her report said, "A Ukrainian-American, Chalupa reportedly acknowledged in a 2017 interview with Politico that she worked as a consultant for the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 campaign to publicly expose Trump campaign aide Paul Manafort’s links to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine."

She noted Politico reported "Chalupa – who previously worked in the Clinton administration – met with top Ukrainian officials at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington D.C. in an effort to tarnish the Trump campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton by exposing 'ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia.'"

She reported Ukrainian embassy officials and Chalupa "coordinat[ed] an investigation with the Hillary team" into Manafort."

Chalupa's campaign, the report said, took place just as "FBI agent Peter Strzok opened a counterintelligence investigation based on Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos."

There also were Obama administration officials who met on the issue, and the Ukrainian ambassador wrote an op-ed against Trump in The Hill.

Twitter news aggregator Twitchy commented: "Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Nancy Pelosi, and Democrats in general have been working hard to make sure only certain bits and pieces of testimony and evidence have made it out to the public. Schiff himself changed the rules, silenced witnesses, shut questioning down – and really and truly made an a*s out of himself during the impeachment hearings. At least the ones he allowed us to see.

"The media's job has been to spin, spin, and then spin some more. Just like the Democrats' job has been to deflect, distract, and try to destroy Trump before the real story of how they worked with Ukraine in 2016 to sabotage his campaign gets out there."