The Department of Justice announced today that QuantaDyn Corporation (QuantaDyn), headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, has agreed to resolve civil claims arising from allegations that it engaged in a bribery scheme to steer government contracts for training simulators to the company, as part of a broader settlement that includes a guilty plea by the company. As part of the plea agreement, QuantaDyn has agreed to pay $37,757,713.91 in restitution, which also will resolve the company’s civil False Claims Act liability for the scheme. William T. Dunn Jr., the majority owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer of QuantaDyn, has separately paid $500,000 to resolve his personal False Claims Act liability.
“When government contractors pay bribes to military contracting officials to obtain contracts, they prevent both our military and the American taxpayers from receiving products that are procured fairly and objectively and at a reasonable price,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our continuing commitment to protecting the integrity of the government’s procurement process and ensuring that is untainted by fraud and corruption.”
“I am proud that our team and our law-enforcement partners were able to obtain justice for the American taxpayer in this case. We will not tolerate fraud against important federal programs,” stated U.S. Attorney John F. Bash for the Western District of Texas.
“The integrity of GSA’s contracting is vital to good government,” said U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General Carol Ochoa. “Our special agents have been tireless in investigating corruption, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute it wherever we find it.”
Founded in 2000, QuantaDyn is a privately held software engineering firm specializing in developing training simulation systems for Department of Defense agencies, including the Air Force and the Air National Guard, both as a prime contractor and a subcontractor.
The civil settlement announced today, which was based on the company and Dunn’s ability to pay, resolves allegations that QuantaDyn, during the time period when Dunn was President, engaged in a bribery scheme to steer the award of government contracts for training simulators to QuantaDyn. The United States alleged that while Dunn was QuantaDyn’s President, the company formed a corrupt partnership with an Air Force contracting official who provided procurement-sensitive information to QuantaDyn during the pre- and post-award phases of the contract in exchange for bribes. The United States contended that, as a result of this scheme, QuantaDyn caused a prime contractor to submit false invoices to the United States.
Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, U.S. Attorney John F. Bash for the Western District of Texas announced that the United States and QuantaDyn have entered into a plea agreement to resolve criminal allegations related to the bribery scheme. On Jan. 15, 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas unsealed indictments against QuantaDyn, the former Air Force contracting official, and other individuals. Under the plea agreement, QuantaDyn has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, serve a five-year term of probation and to take certain remedial measures, and pay $37,757,713.91 in restitution, a criminal penalty of $6,300,000, and forfeiture of $7,099,863.77.
This civil settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas; the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Greater Southwest and Rocky Mountain Investigations Division; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southwest Field Office; the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Procurement Fraud Detachment 3 in San Antonio; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Major Procurement Fraud Unit (CID/MPFU), Southwestern Fraud Field Office; the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), Headquarters, Operations Investigative Support Division (OIS).
Except as admitted in the plea agreement, the claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Our latest Geointeresting #podcast features NGA’s Director of Research & an NGA scientist discovering the latest in hyperspectral signatures – two women at different stages of their career, but both strong advocates for women in the #STEM field. Listen up! https://t.co/vK7Plnlr7wpic.twitter.com/JyOhUWZaUg
The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners tabled a controversial vote Thursday around the use of facial recognition technology in city neighborhoods.
“It’s still under review, so we cannot move forward at this particular time," Commissioner Willie Bell said, explaining that discussions around that particular surveillance directive were still being hammered out with Police Chief James Craig and Mayor Mike Duggan.
While the facial recognition vote was put off, the board did move forward and approved (6-3, with one abstention) a related directive dealing with rules around cameras mounted onto traffic lights throughout the city's neighborhoods.
"Yes, the traffic light was dealing with face recognition, but we separated it out, they were combined together but they're two separate entities," said Bell.
Community members, who spoke during the public comment period, expressed a different point of view, indicating that they saw the two issues as inextricably tied.
“I understand that you said facial recognition is not on the agenda today, but you moved forward and voted on traffic cameras that will have the capabilities of that technology," said Detroiter Tawana Petty.
“This facial recognition technology has been utilized for a couple of years without transparency and then the minute we get an opportunity to vocalize our concerns on it, it’s rushed through with little accountability," she continued. The city purchased facial recognition software in July 2017 for just over $1 million.
Willie Burton, one of the three commissioners who voted against the traffic directive, agreed with Petty stating that it was impossible to isolate the two directives.
"It was all presented together and now all of a sudden they want to separate it because they knew the community was coming out to speak against it," said Burton.
“This tech has been removed from body cameras in other police depts, it’s banned in SF. The very technologists who created it said it’s harmful and biased. It doesn’t recognize darker skins” - Tawana Petty speaking against facial recognition tech today at police commissioner mtg pic.twitter.com/OKRDYa4jfM
In a rundown of what occurred around the facial recognition directive and why it got pushed back, Gregory Hicks, the board's secretary, explained that the commissioners responded to the original facial recognition directive with 17 recommendations and Assistant Police Chief James White responded with the approval of all but two. The changes were then incorporated in the directive but "at last minute the department requested to pull back" the facial recognition vote.
Hicks said he does not know why the department pulled the directive and that as of now there is no new date for a vote.
“This tech has proven to be inaccurate/misidentifies particularly ppl of color, ppl who look like me, ppl who live/work in my community. I have every right to move thru this city w/o my movements being tracked/watched under the guise that this will make me safer” - Janice Gates pic.twitter.com/Pkg4AwWRCw
Both directives involve the "Neighborhood Real-Time Intelligence Program," a new $9 million initiative that Duggan announced in March at his State of the City address. Using local and federal traffic modernization funds, the city will put high-definition cameras at various intersections in the neighborhoods. They will be monitored by Detroit Public Works staff at the Real Time Crime Center within the Detroit Police Department's Public Safety headquarters downtown.
By the end of 2019, cameras are set to be installed at 11 intersections on the Greenfield and East Seven Mile corridors. Additionally, the Department of Public Works will add cameras to 29 intersections across the city. In 2020, an additional 400 cameras will be added.
“These are the traffic cameras we’re putting up. We will get shots of the perpetrators as they go past and we’ll be able to chase them down,” Duggan said at his State of the City.
Under the traffic-light directive that passed Thursday, Detroit police are prohibited from using the footage or images from the traffic light cameras to enforce traffic misdemeanors or pedestrian laws or to issue civil infractions of any kind. The cameras cannot be used to assess immigration status or engage in immigration enforcement. And DPD cannot use audio from the cameras unless there is a verified court order.
Footage and images obtained from the traffic light-mounted cameras can be used for "legitimate law enforcement purposes," defined as investigations into criminal activity, the pursuit of a criminal suspect, the monitoring of an ongoing situation "in which criminal activity is, or is reasonably expected to occur."
DPD is not prohibited from focusing cameras on handbills, flyers or other materials carried pursuant to the First Amendment, but they will "avoid" doing this.
While some checks are in place, critics remain concerned, especially when considering the yet to be voted on directive that deals with facial recognition.
Worries hit on privacy and the silencing of free speech to the actual efficacy of the technology.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of California tested images of members of Congress on "Rekognition" — Amazon's facial recognition tool. The organization found that of the 535 faces inputted, the software falsely matched 28 with people who had been arrested on criminal charges. Additionally, the software gave false matches for 39% of the minority members, who comprise only 20% of Congress.
Such issues were raised in a May inter-office memo sent to the commissioners. The document cited a January report that found that facial recognition technology showed a lower accuracy rate for African Americans and another that found that artificial intelligence assigned more criminal intent to black men based on difficulties interpreting emotions of black faces.
"That is enough to justify voting against it," said Eric Williams, an attorney working with the ACLU on a committee opposing the city's surveillance tactics. "If it said this for white men and women, this wouldn't even be considered."
Last month, San Francisco — seen by many as the center of the tech-universe — became the first major city to ban police use of the technology, citing several of the concerns Williams and other critics of the software have raised.
"We have an outsize responsibility to regulate the excesses of technology precisely because they are headquartered here," Aaron Peskin, the city supervisor who sponsored the bill, told the New York Times at the time.
This point was raised by Petty during her public comment Thursday.
"I have to push you all to at least understand the technology you’re implementing," she continued. "This will be the largest experiment on black people in the United States — 700,000 black people being submitted to an experiment that has already failed all over the world."
While the directives in question have been discussed in relation to the Neighborhood Real-Time Intelligence Program — the use of such technology and surveillance is not new in Detroit. This is just the latest surveillance project in an ever-expanding network.
The public-facing push to ramp up surveillance began in January 2016 when DPD launched Project Green Light. Starting with eight gas stations, the program has participating businesses pay for and install surveillance cameras on their property that feed directly to DPD's Real Time Crime Center. Additionally, as part of the program, businesses commit to ensuring they have robust lighting and a green light outside of their vicinity to let customers know they are a part of the program.
Today, more than 500 businesses — including churches, schools, and pharmacies — are a part of the program. There are also two "Green Light Corridors" and one public housing property signed on to be part of the program.
Prior to the launch of Project Green Light, however, city officials were thinking about surveillance and specifically facial recognition software.
"FACE Watch Plus tracks face images from live video surveillance, processes the images, then searches your database and alerts you when a match/hit has been made," the proposal explained. "It detects faces within surveillance footage in real-time, then uses cutting-edge facial searching algorithms to rapidly search through your agency's mugshot or watchlist database for positive matches."
The 2017 contract, which expired on Wednesday, explained that the purchase of facial recognition licensing, software and equipment was for "Project Green Light Locations."
Despite this stated use, a May report from Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology noted that nowhere on the Green Light website was the use of face recognition, real-time face surveillance, or any kind of automated face analysis technology mentioned.
This, according to Clare Garvie, a senior associate at the center and co-author of the report, is a problem.
"It should be up to communities to decide whether the benefits of face recognition outweigh the risks and whether these benefits to public safety mean that this technology can and should be used on them," said Garvie.
"What we found in Detroit is the decision to purchase not just face recognition — the ability to do investigations using face recognition — but the ability to do face surveillance was not something that was ever presented to the public," she continued. "It never appears to be presented to the Project Green Light partners, and yes that is absolutely a discussion that should have taken place before the city spends over a million dollars on a system."
For some of the Detroiters in attendance at the vote Thursday, the delay seemed to exacerbate questions of accountability.
"If you can’t even conduct a vote with integrity," asked Janice Gates, "how do you expect us to believe that you will use facial recognition with integrity?"
Detroiter Eric Blount echoed her sentiments.
"It feels like this meeting agenda switch is a sleight of hand switch, so many people came out here thinking they were going to understand and better express themselves on facial recognition and a last-minute switch," Blount said. "I just ask you to stick to the agenda, if there is any possibility that it will be changed, do it far in advance, because these meetings are very inconvenient for most people who have to work."
Once upon a time, in a land called Detroit, there was a group of "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) over there at Perkins Coie, who came up with the brilliant idea to create a make believe corporation called the Detroit Land Bank Authority to steal the children, the land, the vote and the Big Blue TARP they had spun from their highly sophisticated fraud operation called the #perkinscoiesucks.
One day the "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) gathered up all the Meanies, and the inspiring Meanies, and decided to be really, really mean to her Sweetie and made the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed get the saddy face.
D & B D-U-N-S
(it even has a regigstered trademark, too!)
So, along the journey of her mission, the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed asked Duns & Bradstreet how come the Detroit Land Bank Authority could get a D & B Number required to enter into a contractual relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense when, at the time, but no longer because Bill Schuette called her a public nuisance, the true principle, the registered agent of the Detroit Land Bank Authority, LLC, was she?
[Ernesto] Hello, my name is Ernesto from Dun and Bradstreet and I will be more than happy to assist you today.
[Visitor] Hello, I would like to know what I need to apply for a D & B#, specifically, do I need to submit my articles of incorporation?
[Ernesto] I can help with that. First, I'll need your company info (name + city + state), and a phone number to reach you.
[Visitor] Why? I asked a simple question. Does a corporation need to submit articles of incorporation to apply for a D&B#?
[Visitor] Yes or No.
[Ernesto] no
[Visitor] Thank you. I ask because another corporation used my corporation to file for a D&B# to engage in fraudulent activities with the federal government and am seeking proper avenue to file notification of these activities. To whom would I report such fraudulent activity?
[Ernesto] experian transunion equilfax?
[Visitor] Thank you so very much! Have a great day!
The operator has ended the chat. Thanks for contacting us.
She was pleased as she new exactly who would be next in her administrative verification in the chain of command, U.S. System Awards Management.
The Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed then made them refer the matter to GSA.
Beverly Tran <tranbeverly@gmail.com>
Your incident 170926-004106 has been closed 1 message
Federal Service Desk <gsafsd@midatl.service-now.com>
Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 4:54 PM
Reply-To: Federal Service Desk <gsafsd@midatl.service-now.com>
To: tranbeverly@gmail.com
***DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL***
This incident 170926-004106 has been closed and cannot be reopened. If you need further assistance, please go to www.fsd.gov, click on the "Submit a Question" Webform or the Webchat link to correspond with an agent. It will be necessary for you to sign-in to your FSD Account.
The 'Submit a Question' will accept submissions 24 hours 7 days a week. Federal Service Desk Agents will respond to your request during normal business hours.
Webchat is also available during normal business hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET.
Don't forget that the SAM Status Tracker is now available at www.sam.gov to monitor the on-going status of your Entity Registration. Click on "Check Status" under the section titled "Register/Update Entity and the SAM Status Tracker will be displayed. Enter the DUNs and click "Check Status" to see the search results.
2017-09-26 16:53:50 EDT - Kevin DAdditional comments
Ms. Tran called in today to view the entity structure of the DUNS: 963481028. Ms. Tran stated that they should not answer the county and state of incorporation because the company was not incorporated. The agent advised her that those 2 questions do not have anything to do with the entity structure and are wanting to know where the entity started. Ms. Tran asked how to file a complaint because she stated that the company was not incorporated. The agent asked if she was an employee of the federal government. Ms. Tran stated "not any more". The agent advised her that if she had a complaint about this entity to call the better business bureau. Ms. Tran stated that she wanted to file a complaint with us. The agent advised her that all registration in SAM that are active have passed the validation process were reviewed by the IRS and DLA. Ms. Tran requested the phone number of the DLA. The agent provided phone number 877-352-2255.
Knowledge article KB0012026:
The Federal Service Desk (FSD) does not assign or maintain Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) codes and cannot assist with this issue. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Logistics Information Service in Battle Creek, Michigan, is the authoritative source of CAGE codes for U.S. locations and U.S. territories.
CAGE codes for U.S. locations and U.S. territories are assigned to SAM registrants by DLA Logistics Information Services as the new SAM registration goes through the CAGE validation process after it is submitted in SAM.
Being fully aware that she was dealing with front line Government Services Administration (GSA) staffers who were completely lost in the Dark Forest of Muddling Through, (yes, she was force-taught that crap at WSU Political Science Department, another upcoming chapter.) the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed continued along her journey to reach the next plataeu of verification in the chain of command for a corporation, the U.S. Defense Logistic Agency.
The Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed's heart grew heavy from reading the responses of DLA, for she knew, they too, had attended the gathering of the Meanies to further the privatized plans to steal the children, the land and the vote by being really, super mean to her Sweetie because the Meanies had already wiped the system, after she grabbed everything to prove they lied and were stealin'.
Beverly Tran <tranbeverly@gmail.com>
DLA Service Ticket Response 2 messages
Christine Sorell <Christine.Sorell@dla.mil>
Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 9:13 AM
To: BEVERLY TRAN <TRANBEVERLY@gmail.com>
Thank you for contacting DLA. Below are details regarding your issue
and/or concern.
Service Ticket Information
Ticket No./Date: 8005556267 / 09/26/2017
Description: CGE DUNS 963481028
NSN:
Requisition Number:
PO#/PR#:
Contract Number:
Status: Closed
Problem/Interim/Resolution
RESOLUTION 9/27/2017
Ms.Tran,
I don't see where you are listed anywhere on the registration, so if the
government point of contact has some questions, I will gladly discuss
those with them at any time.
For your information we do not have the authority to make changes to
data that is submitted to us via the SAM registration system.
We received your request and are exploring all opportunities to assist
you. You will be contacted regarding your request. Service Ticket DetailRegistrations sent
Created By: KTP0023
Created On: 09/26/2017
Closed On: 09/27/2017
Account Address
DODAAC:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are DLA. We stand committed to providing logistics solutions to our
valued customers.
This email is for information purposes only. If you require further
assistance, please send a reply back on this email or call our DLA
Customer Interaction Center (CIC) at 1(877)352-2255, COMM 1(269)961-7766, or DSN 661-7766. To help us assist you, please refer to
your Service Ticket number.
DETROIT LAND BANK AUTHORITY Page
STE 1200 500 GRISWOLD ST 2
DETROIT MI 48226-4463
Service Ticket No./Date
8005556267 / 09/26/2017
from SAM to CAGE for processing are worked in the date order received at
CAGE after IRS validation. Please take note the date processing order
will be adhered to by CAGE.
Your patience is greatly appreciated. This email is for informational
purposes only. Please do not reply; doing so could delay your response.
Thank you,
Defense Logistics Agency - Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Team
Defense Logistics Agency Customer Interaction Center - 1-877-352-2255
(Available 24 X 7)
PROBLEM:
Customer wants to report the following incorrect information given to
the US Government regarding DUNS 963481028: she stated they are not an
incorporation, that they were changed to one by someone from the CAGE
team and that they need this fraudulent information fixed as soon as
possible. Please assist. (see internal notes)
We are DLA. We are committed to providing you, our valued customer,
with logistics solutions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are DLA. We stand committed to providing logistics solutions to our
valued customers.
This email is for information purposes only. If you require further
assistance, please send a reply back on this email or call our DLA
Customer Interaction Center (CIC) at 1(877)352-2255, COMM
1(269)961-7766, or DSN 661-7766. To help us assist you, please refer to
your Service Ticket number.
Beverly Tran <tranbeverly@gmail.com>
Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 5:47 PM
To: Christine Sorell <Christine.Sorell@dla.mil>
Thank you for your response.
To begin, I am not the customer. I am lodging a formal complaint regarding the registration and vetting of the corporation of Detroit Land Bank Authority.
I am requesting this information on behalf of U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr.
According to the information found on your website, it states that the Detroit Land Bank Authority is incorporated.
Not only does it purport that it is incorporated, but it declares that it is incorporated in the State of Michigan.
To date, there are no filings with the State of Michigan for the incorporation of the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
In addition, the Detroit Land Bank Authority promotes itself, as a quasi-governmental organization of the City of Detroit, of which its Agreement of Creation, attached, clearly states.
With that said, I am formally asking for inquiry as to whom, within your agency, and the process of such, approved the Detroit Land Bank Authority to contract with the U.S.Government.
This is nothing less than a false claim.
If, in fact, the Detroit Land Bank Authority did submit legal documentation that it is a corporation, please provide the submitted articles of incorporation, as it claims, again, that it is not a corporation.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This is an action under the False Claims Act’s recently Amended Complaint, whereby, Defendants Detroit Land Bank Authority and Detroit Land Bank Community Development Corporation knowlingly presented false and fraudulent claims for payment and approval, to intentionally defraud the Hardest Hit Funds and other federal programs, by knowlingly and willingly conspiring to generate false records with numerous defendants, to engage in a series of complex fraud schemes, in the acquisition and transference of real properties, fraudulently entering into contracts, stripping voting rights, fraudulently levying property taxes, in the City of Detroit, under the color of law.
FBI Announces Contract Award for Next Generation Identification System
The FBI announced today it has awarded Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions the contract for the design, development, documentation, integration, testing, and deployment of the Next Generation Identification (NGI) System. The contract will consist of a base year and the potential for up to nine option years. The NGI System will expand on the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division’s current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), which is primarily a fingerprint-based identification system operated and maintained in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The NGI System will provide improvements to current services and new functionality for the criminal justice, national security, and civil communities.
The industry of identification systems is moving beyond dependency on a unimodal (e.g., fingerprint) biometric identifier and is beginning to incorporate multimodal biometrics such as iris and facial imaging. Due to the many issues associated with identity theft, lost and stolen documents, and the ability to spoof standard name-based identity management systems, coupled with the rapid advances in technology and the nation’s focus on combating terrorism, there are increasing needs for new and improved identification services. In line with this trend, the NGI System will advance the integration strategies and indexing of additional, lawfully authorized, biometric data, providing the framework for a future multimodal system which will facilitate biometric fusion identification techniques. This framework will be expandable, scalable, and flexible to accommodate new technologies and emerging biometrics standards, and will be interoperable with existing biometric systems.
It is important to note that the NGI system will not expand the categories of individuals from whom the fingerprints and biometric data may be collected; however it will allow for the collection of additional biometric data from criminals and terrorists. Although fingerprint data will remain the primary means of identification, the collection of additional biometric data will be used for investigative purposes and to assist in the identification process.
“IAFIS has been a fantastic tool in support of criminal justice and the war on terror. Our partners on the Advisory Policy Board (APB) and National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council have defined a need for more modern technology that supports their current mission requirements. NGI will give us bigger, better, faster capabilities and lead us into the future. We have added additional capabilities to our current system, and are working with the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and State and the international law enforcement community in making our communities and nation safer. NGI will leverage the biometrics expertise in the north-central West Virginia area,” said Thomas E. Bush, III, Assistant Director of the FBI’s CJIS Division.
Committed to providing the highest quality biometric identification techniques, the FBI has employed a shared management approach with its partners through the CJIS APB and the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council to define the NGI System requirements and capabilities. These groups include representatives from criminal justice, national security, and civil agencies throughout the nation.
Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions will be developing the foundational framework which includes new technologies, emerging biometric standards, and interoperability with existing biometric systems. Additionally, Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, along with the FBI, will conduct trade studies to support a multi-biometric framework as the new capabilities are phased in according to schedule throughout the development cycle. The NGI System will enhance fingerprint and latent print processing services, and increase system availability, accuracy, and capacity. The NGI System will provide enhancements to the FBI’s Interstate Photo System by expanding the photo repository and providing photo search capabilities. Improvements will further expand disposition submission capabilities. Furthermore, the IAFIS repository will be enhanced to improve its infrastructure, provide single identity management, and support new biometric modalities such as iris imaging. In addition, a National Palm Print System will be created to provide a centralized national repository for palm print data to allow for comparisons of latent palm prints left at crime scenes against that repository.
A full and open competition was used for the award of the NGI contract. The FBI and Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions will take an incremental approach to the implementation of the NGI System.
Bruce Ohr, Demoted DOJ official in Fusion GPS investigation
A co-founder of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS acknowledged in a new court document that his company hired the wife of a senior Justice Department official to help investigate then-candidate Donald Trump last year.
Simpson’s statement shows Mrs. Ohr was indeed involved in the Trump research. He said bank records reflect Fusion GPS contracted with her “to help our company with its research and analysis of Mr. Trump.”
Further, Simpson said he disclosed to the House intelligence committee that he met personally with Bruce Ohr, “at his request, after the November 2016 election to discuss our findings regarding Russia and the election.”
Fox News first reported last week that Bruce Ohr had been demoted at the DOJ amid an ongoing investigation into his contacts with Fusion GPS. Evidence collected by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., indicates that Ohr met during the 2016 campaign with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the “dossier.” Additionally, as acknowledged in the court filing, he met with Simpson after the election.
Fusion GPS has attracted scrutiny because Republican lawmakers have spent the better part of this year investigating whether the dossier, which was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, served as the basis for the Justice Department and the FBI to obtain FISA surveillance last year on a Trump campaign adviser named Carter Page.
On Tuesday, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow called for the appointment of a separate special prosecutor to look into potential conflicts of interest involving Justice Department and FBI officials.
A group of House Republicans for months has called for the appointment of a second special counsel to probe certain Obama and Clinton-related controversies, something Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing.
When asked Tuesday about the Sekulow call, Sessions noted he’s already ordered that review following the prior call from members of Congress.
“I’ve put a senior attorney, with the resources he may need, to review cases in our office and make a recommendation to me ... if things aren’t being pursued that need to be pursued, if cases may need more resources to complete in a proper manner, and to recommend to me if the standards for a special counsel are met,” he said, calling that the “appropriate” course.
