After two years Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) finally lifted his hold on President Donald Trump’s pick for counterintelligence chief, William Evanina.
Grassley was waiting for DOJ documents on possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia which he claimed were given to House committees for their investigations.
Senator Grassley praised AG William Barr and acting DNI Richard Grenell in a statement released on Monday adding that he did not question Evanina’s credentials.
President Trump has nominated William Evanina for the post twice but Sen. Grassley had placed a hold on the nomination.
DNI Rick Grenell has only been acting DNI since February and is already making his presence known.
The Politico reported:
Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday lifted his hold on President Donald Trump’s pick to be the nation’s counterintelligence chief, ending a blockade that began nearly two years ago.
Grassley initially blocked William Evanina’s nomination to head the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in June 2018, demanding the Justice Department fork over documents on its probe of possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow — which he claimed House committees received in their Russia investigations, including those related to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, who became a go-between for former British spy Christopher Steele and the FBI.
In a statement submitted for the record Monday, Grassley stressed that he “did not question Mr. Evanina’s credentials in any way” and said his change of heart came after he received the documents he requested, praising Attorney General William Barr and acting DNI Richard Grenell.
“If their predecessors had simply respected legitimate congressional oversight and their agreements with me and the Judiciary Committee from the beginning, Mr. Evanina would have been confirmed long ago,” according to Grassley.
“Let this also be a reminder that when it comes to congressional oversight, I will use all the tools at my disposal to get to the truth of the matter and get access to the records that I believe are necessary to advance my investigations,” he added.
