By Gizem Nisa Demir
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Southeastern Legal Foundation is considering pursuing sanctions against the US Justice Department (DOJ), alleging it concealed key documents related to the Russiagate investigation.
Asked if sanctions were on the table, head of the nonprofit watchdog Kimberly Hermann told the TV program Just the News, No Noise: "Absolutely." He added: "We’re going to go back to the courtroom and then also refer these out to whatever agencies we need to … to hold these bad actors accountable."
The dispute stems from a 2019 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit the watchdog filed on behalf of Just the News CEO John Solomon, seeking records on whether the Steele Dossier was used in the Intelligence Community Assessment that concluded Russia aimed to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.
Former British spy Christopher Steele produced the Steele Dossier, which alleged misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's campaign and the Russian government leading up to the election.
The Justice Department at the time claimed only two responsive pages existed — a statement Hermann now calls "very suspect" following the recent release of declassified files.
Those files, disclosed last month by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, allege that former President Barack Obama and senior officials "manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump."
Hermann compared the alleged concealment to the accountability sought in the former US President Bill Clinton impeachment era. "Until punishment happens, they’re going to keep doing it," she said.
"The people who are behind Russiagate … then hid them from the American public. These people need to be held accountable."
The US intelligence community concluded in 2017 that "Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election" that sought to "undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton (Trump’s electoral opponent), and harm her electability and potential presidency."
"We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a declassified report released Jan. 6 of that year.
The allegations do not appear to conflict with the determination reached by the intelligence community, but take issue with how it was reached.
Gabbard acknowledged that Russia thought Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton "would win the election" but said the Kremlin withheld "the most damning" information it had on the former secretary of state.
"They had plans to release it just prior to her inauguration, to again sow discord and chaos in America," she said.