Fusion, a research firm, was hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign, which then contracted Steele, a former MI6 operative, to gather information on Donald Trump during the 2016 election. This dossier, which is largely unverified, was used to obtain a FISA warrant against former Trump adviser Carter Page; a piece of partisan political opposition research was used to spy on someone who worked for the opposing presidential campaign.
Ohr’s wife, Nellie, worked for Fusion GPS during the election, but he never disclosed that on his ethics forms. He didn’t apply for waivers either. The Daily Caller had the scoop, adding that willingly falsifying government ethics forms is a criminal offense; Ohr was rather vague on them and wasn’t transparent about the fact that the research firm was paying his wife:
Bruce Ohr, the Department of Justice official who brought opposition research on President Donald Trump to the FBI, did not disclose that Fusion GPS, which performed that research at the Democratic National Committee’s behest, was paying his wife, and did not obtain a conflict of interest waiver from his superiors at the Justice Department, documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation show.
The omission may explain why Ohr was demoted from his post as associate deputy attorney general after the relationship between Fusion GPS and his wife emerged and Fusion founder Glenn Simpson acknowledged meeting with Ohr. Willfully falsifying government ethics forms can carry a penalty of jail time, if convicted.