Who Is Nellie Ohr? Trump Slams 'Beautiful Wife' of Deputy Attorney General as He Hits Out at Steele Dossier

GettyImages-1012899450
President Donald Trump's latest tweets slam the wife of Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr's wife, Nellie Ohr over the Russia-Steele dossier. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday afternoon about the "beautiful wife" of deputy attorney general Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, in connection to Christopher Steele's Russia dossier.

In the social media post, in which he spells Nellie Ohr's name wrong, Trump says that the "big story that the Fake News Media refuses to report is lowlife Christopher Steele's many meeting with Deputy A.G. Bruce Ohr and his beautiful wife, Nelly. It was Fusion GPS that hired Steele to write the phony & discredited Dossier, paid for by Crooked Hillary & the DNC."

The big story that the Fake News Media refuses to report is lowlife Christopher Steele’s many meetings with Deputy A.G. Bruce Ohr and his beautiful wife, Nelly. It was Fusion GPS that hired Steele to write the phony & discredited Dossier, paid for by Crooked Hillary & the DNC....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2018

The president continued his comment in another tweet directly after the first, in which he said that "Do you believe Nelly worked for Fusion and her husband STILL WORKS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF "JUSTICE." I have never seen anything so Rigged in my life. Our A.G. is scared stiff and Missing in Action. It is all starting to be revealed - not pretty. IG Report soon? Witch Hunt!"

....Do you believe Nelly worked for Fusion and her husband STILL WORKS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF “JUSTICE.” I have never seen anything so Rigged in my life. Our A.G. is scared stiff and Missing in Action. It is all starting to be revealed - not pretty. IG Report soon? Witch Hunt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2018

Nellie Ohr earned a degree in history and Russian literature at Harvard and received a doctorate degree from Stanford in history. For a time she was an assistant professor at Vassar College before moving on to work as an independent contractor doing research and translation projects having to do with Russian science and technology.

She is also a member of the Women in International Security, an organization that is "dedicated to advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace and security."

Nellie Ohr entered the controversy surrounding the Steele dossier because she was working for Fusion GPS, a commercial research and strategic intelligence firm based in Washington, D.C., which had hired Christopher Steele. She reportedly worked for the firm during the 2016 election.

There has been no evidence of any wrongdoing, and Trump did not make it clear how he felt Ohr fitted into a grand conspiracy to undo him. It is a common occurence for experts to move between consulting and government roles in Washington, D.C.

But links between the Justice Department and Steele have become a right-wing talking point, as Trump and his allies seek to undermine a broad investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into links between his campaign and the Russian govenment.

The House Judiciary Committee, headed by Republicans, wants to interview Bruce Ohr and his wife, along with several other current and former FBI and Department of Justice officials. The committee has even said that they are willing to subpoena the couple if necessary. The committee, headed by Bob Goodlatte, was created to investigate decisions made by the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 election.

"We plan to interview the people noted in the coming weeks and we will issue subpoenas to compel their attendance if necessary," a committee aide wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Steele's 35-page dossier details possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It also alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime had cultivated Trump for years and even had damaging information on the real estate mogul.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Alexandra Hutzler is currently a staff writer on Newsweek's politics team. Prior to joining Newsweek in summer 2018, she was ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go