WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the release of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence memo.

“The American people now have some context for what they have been reading in the press for months, including some of which served as the basis of the criminal referral of Mr. Steele made by Senator Grassley and me.  Through my service on the Senate Judiciary Committee I have been investigating this matter for months and will continue to do so.

On Mr. Steele:

“I have grave concerns that in compiling the dossier, Mr. Steele could have been easily manipulated by Russian intelligence services given his zeal and political bias against then-candidate Donald Trump.

“It’s unsettling to me that Mr. Steele was being paid by the Democratic Party and Clinton campaign yet it appears his dossier – which to this day remains substantially unverified -- may have been used by the FBI without sufficient scrutiny. 

“All the while, Mr. Steele was shopping the same document to media outlets and other sources throughout the world for political purposes.

“There remains much about the actions taken by Mr. Steele that concerns me and I want these matters fully investigated.

“You can be an FBI informant.  You can be a political operative.  But you can’t be both – particularly at the same time.

On the Memo, Response and Path Forward:

“Finally, nothing in the memo released today undercuts Mr. Mueller’s investigation.

“I agree with Speaker Ryan this memo should not be construed as an attack on the FBI or DOJ as institutions. In addition, Mr. Steele’s work product was one piece of a larger puzzle as it relates to Mr. Page and others.  I expect the Democratic memo in response will likely provide further context.

“Going forward, I believe we must do two things at once – allow Mr. Mueller to do his job and appoint a second special counsel to look at potential abuses by some members of the Department of Justice and FBI regarding the Clinton email investigation and early stages of Russia investigation.

“We should never lose sight of the fact the FBI is made up of hard-working Americans who put their lives on the line to protect our nation and the Department of Justice is made up of dedicated public servants who believe in the Rule of Law.  If some bad elements within those agencies have acted inappropriately, they will be held to account.” 

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