A lawyer for Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, told congressional investigators that “somebody’s already been killed” as a result of the publication of the controversial dossier tying President Trump to Russia.
In closed-door testimony with the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Simpson was asked by investigators if Fusion GPS took steps to “assess the credibility” of sources used by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the dossier.
“Yes, but I’m not going to get into sourcing information,” Simpson replied.
{mosads}Simpson then declined to answer a follow-up question. When asked why he was declining to answer, his attorney, Joshua Levy, said Simpson “wants to be very careful to protect his sources.”
“Somebody’s already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier, and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work,” Levy added.
Simpson had previously declined to answer another question posed by the committee’s investigators, citing “security.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) posted the entire transcript of Simpson’s testimony on Tuesday after a feud erupted between Fusion GPS and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Steele’s dossier has come under intense scrutiny, with Republicans questioning whether the document spurred the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s presidential campaign.
Some of the allegations in the dossier have been shown to be false, while others have either been supported by public evidence or remain unproven.
Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) requested a criminal investigation of Steele last week, asking the Justice Department to investigate if he lied to federal authorities.