Cummings Issues Statement on Identification of “Confidential Informant” in Latest Republican Investigation of Hillary Clinton and Uranium One

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 16, 2017)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a statement after lobbyist William D. Campbell identified himself as the former “confidential informant” on whom Republicans based their decision to launch their latest investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Uranium One.

For more than three weeks since Chairman Trey Gowdy and Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes announced their investigation, Cummings has been trying to obtain access to the former “confidential informant” they based their investigation on, sending letters to Gowdy on November 7and November 15.  Gowdy never responded to the letters.

In his statement today, Cummings said:

“I have been informed within the last 24 hours that Chairman Gowdy did not even know who the former informant was when he and Chairman Nunes launched their latest partisan investigation of Hillary Clinton, and that he took no steps over the past three weeks to obtain this individual’s identity or review his evidence. 

“If this is true, it is inconceivable that the Chairman of a major House Committee would launch a massive new investigation and send multiple document requests based on nothing more than secret allegations from an unidentified ‘confidential informant’ who the Chairman has never talked to, never met,  and never vetted.  

“This is an irresponsible and reckless way to run a congressional investigation, and it shows how desperate Republicans are to distract from Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.  I look forward to hopefully speaking with Mr. Campbell in the near future.”

On October 23, Republican Committee Member Ron DeSantis went on Fox News to announce the investigation, stating:  “I’ve been able to speak with the confidential informant that helped the FBI uncover this bribery scheme.”  He also claimed the informant had “explosive” new evidence showing a quid pro quo between Russian bribes for Clinton to orchestrate the unanimous decision by nine federal agencies to approve the Uranium One deal:

“We have the money that went to Bill Clinton for the speech, the half a million dollars.  Millions of dollars to the Foundation from sources connected with Uranium One.  And then you have the approval of the deal on the CFIUS board, which Hillary Clinton was a member of, in 2010.  So you do have the quid, you have the quo.  This informant, I believe, would be able to link those two together.”

Two days later, Gowdy placed DeSantis in charge of the investigation for the Oversight Committee, apparently without obtaining any information about his informant.  DeSantis is the lead sponsor of legislation to kill Special Counsel Mueller’s probe of the Trump campaign and its Russian connections.

These claims have been debunked repeatedly:

• Washington Post Fact Checker:  “Four Pinocchios”
• PolitiFact:  “Mostly False”
• Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith:  “The accusation is predicated on the charge that Secretary Clinton approved the sale.  She did not.”
• National Review:  “The uranium story is crap.”