Trump wanted FBI informant’s gag order lifted

President Trump wanted the gag order lifted on a former FBI informant who was involved in the bureau’s probe of corruption in the Russian energy sector during the Obama administration, according to multiple reports. 

Fox News first reported that an order to release the former informant from the confidentiality agreement came from Trump himself, though other sources told the network the decision was ultimately made by senior Justice Department officials. 

The Justice Department released the former FBI informant from the confidentiality agreement Wednesday night, allowing him to testify before Congress about what he witnessed while undercover.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has publicly called on the department to lift the gag order. 

{mosads}A source told CNN that “when Grassley expressed interest in having (the informant) as a witness, the President wanted to ensure he could.”

It is unusual for the White House to involve itself in law enforcement matters due to Justice Department rules limiting involvement from the president. 

The reports come as Republican lawmakers seek to understand why the Obama administration gave the green light to the sale of  Uranium One, a Canada-based company that provided the U.S. with much of its uranium supply, to Russia’s Atomic Energy Agency in 2010. 

Senior House Republicans launched a pair of investigations this week: one aimed at probing the sale of Uranium One, which occurred during former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of State, and another examining the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s handling of classified material.

The Judiciary and the Oversight committees will lead the probe into Clinton’s handling of classified information, while the Oversight and the Intelligence committees will look into the Uranium One sale.