Former British spy Christopher Steele lobbied a senior Justice Department (DOJ) official on behalf of a Russian oligarch before and during his work on the controversial opposition research dossier that accused the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia.
Steele repeatedly advocated on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in his communications with Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr. Steele asked Ohr to monitor the status of Deripaska’s newly issued U.S. visa, informed Ohr that he was circulating a sensitive intelligence briefing that cast Deripaska as independent of the Kremlin, and sent information on behalf of the oligarch’s lawyer about a dispute between the billionaire’s company and Ukraine.
