Grassley Calls for Declassification of FBI Analysis on Nellie Ohr Criminal Referral

Washington DC — Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has formally requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declassify a document related to the criminal referral of Nellie Ohr, a key figure in the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel, Grassley called for the immediate declassification of the FBI’s analysis concerning Ohr’s alleged false statements to Congress in 2018. Grassley transmitted the analysis along with a public cover letter outlining Ohr’s role and arguing that there is no legitimate reason to keep the document classified.

“As you are aware, Nellie Ohr played a key role in the genesis of Crossfire Hurricane while working for Fusion GPS and coordinating with her husband, Bruce Ohr, who was a Justice Department official at that time,” Grassley wrote.

The document Grassley seeks to make public provides background on the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s 2016 counterintelligence investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and details regarding the criminal referral against Nellie Ohr for making false statements during her testimony to Congress.

Grassley emphasized that most of the document is already unclassified and that the classified portions are “at a very low level of classification.” He further argued that much of the information is similar to materials already ordered declassified by President Trump in 2020 and 2025.

“The overriding public interest” in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and the need for transparency, Grassley argued, outweigh any reasons to keep the document classified. “Declassification of the document in full would be consistent with past practices and to the benefit of public transparency and accountability. There is no legitimate basis to keep the document from the public,” Grassley concluded.

Grassley has long been critical of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and has advocated for transparency regarding the actions of government officials and contractors involved in its creation.