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A secretive Washington firm that supports Hillary Clinton is behind the creation and promotion of the unverified intelligence report on President Donald Trump, colloquially known as the Trump dossier, according to New York Post report.

That firm, Fusion GPS, is now at the center of an investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee. According to the Post, the Senate committee has threatened to subpoena the firm to answer questions about the dossier that theyve allegedly so far refused to answer.

Fusions Wikipedia page says the organization is a commercial research and strategic intelligence but sources told the Post Fusion operates like an opposition-research firm that is staunchly liberal and anti-Trump.

These guys had a vested personal and ideological interest in smearing Trump and boosting Hillarys chances of winning the White House, an unnamed source told the Post.

More from the Post:

Fusion GPS was on the payroll of an unidentified Democratic ally of Clinton when it hired a long-retired British spy to dig up dirt on Trump. In 2012, Democrats hired Fusion GPS to uncover dirt on GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. And in 2015, Democrat ally Planned Parenthood retained Fusion GPS to investigate pro-life activists protesting the abortion group.

More, federal records show a key co-founder and partner in the firm was a Hillary Clinton donor and supporter of her presidential campaign.

In September 2016, while Fusion GPS was quietly shopping the dirty dossier on Trump around Washington, its co-founder and partner Peter R. Fritsch contributed at least $1,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund and the Hillary For America campaign, Federal Election Commission data show. His wife also donated money to Hillarys campaign.

Fusion has a long history of working toward progressive interests.

During the 2012 presidential election, Fusion was hired by Democrats to do opposition-research against then-Republican nominee Mitt Romney. In addition, the firm was retained by Planned Parenthood in 2015 to attack pro-life activists after a series of undercover investigative videos were released showing Planned Parenthood leaders discussing the illegal sale of aborted fetal tissues.

The Senate committee is also investigating whether or not the FBI relied on the faulty dossier in their intelligence investigation into Trumps presidential campaign, according to the Post.

In addition, Senate investigators also want to see any communication between Fusion and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is now being investigated for possibly interfering in the FBIs investigation into Clintons private email server.

This is significant because the dossier was shopped around for months last year but all major news organizations passed up the opportunity to report on it. BuzzFeed, however, controversially chose to report on the unverified intelligence report in early January, just days before Trump was to be sworn in as president.

The Trump-Russia collusion narrative has relied heavily on the dossier, so if it can be proved that it is simply a politically charged document designed to hurt Trump, the president may finally have his name cleared.

Excerpt from:
Explosive report reveals org behind Trump dossier has strong ties to Hillary Clinton & Democrats - TheBlaze.com

The Democratic presidential nominee's Twitter account shared a study Friday afternoon from a progressive think tank, the Center for American Progress, predicting that the Senate bill could lead to between 18,000 and 27,000 additional deaths in 2026 if those people have no coverage.

"Forget death panels. If Republicans pass this bill, they're the death party," she tweeted.

"Death panels" is a reference to a line of attack that that was used by some Republicans amid debate on the Affordable Care Act in 2009, suggesting that Obamacare would have the government determine whether elderly people or people with special needs "deserve" care.

The discussion surrounded a provision that would have used Medicare funds to pay for doctors to discuss end-of-life options with patients -- but that proposal did not end up becoming part of the ACA.

This is Clinton's fourth tweet about health care since the Senate bill was released Thursday morning. She encouraged people to call their senators about "Trumpcare," and she retweeted a former adviser to her campaign who shared a graphic showing possible effects of proposed Medicaid cuts on children.

But several have pointed out that the Republican bill improves on Obamacare, which they say was a large-government approach to health care that does not deliver the benefits it promised for patients.

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia said: "After reviewing the initial working draft, I believe it includes many substantial fixes to our broken health care system...Obviously, this will not be the final bill, but I'm hopeful that we can resolve the remaining disagreements and deliver a consensus bill that is a vast improvement over Obamacare."

Former Vice President Joe Biden also tweeted criticism of the Senate measure.

"The Senate health bill isn't about health care at all -- it's a wealth transfer: slashes care to fund tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations."

His tweet echoed Obama's message the day before: "The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill," Obama's Facebook post read. "It's a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America."

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Hillary Clinton: GOP is 'death party' if health care bill passes - CNN

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Subscribe here.

Topspin

A busy week is on tap in Illinois politics from Chicago to Springfield.

The big thing to watch is the final scheduled week of the Illinois General Assembly's special session. Things resume today after a weekend where not much happened outside of a meeting with the legislative leaders that did not feature Gov. Bruce Rauner.

If they don't agree on either a full budget or stopgap by Friday (June 30), the state's credit rating likely will dip to junk status, giving Illinois anignominious distinction among the 50 states. Illinois residents also might not be able to play Powerball or MegaMillions lottery games anymore if the association that runs those multistate games gives us the boot. And the Illinois Department of Transportation could halt road projects, throwing thousands out of work at least temporarily.

On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in town for a sponsored speech to the American Library Association. And an Astroturf group will rally at the Thompson Center plaza against the new Cook County soda pop tax, which takes effect Saturday.

And on Wednesday, the Chicago City Council meets.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will appear with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson at a "cultural awareness training initiative" at the DuSable Museum of African American History, with Sen. Dick Durbin to tout a new gun law that allows judges to crack down on repeat offenders, and welcome a new class of police recruits.

*Gov. Rauner will be just over the border joining Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to break ground on a bridge project.

*Diana Rauner, president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund and Illinois first lady, speaks to the City Club of Chicago.

*The IllinoisHouse and Senate continue in special session.

*State Sen. Daniel Biss, a Democratic governor hopeful, will hold a rally with unions to pressure Gov. Rauner to sign the $15-an-hour minimum wage bill. What's the occasion? It'sabout to be sent to the governor, which is a new one on us.

From the notebook

*On the Sunday Spin: Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearsons guests were state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington; state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie; and state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington. The Sunday Spin airs from 7-9 a.m. on WGN AM-720. Listen to the full show here.

What we're writing

*Monday Springfield story: Madiganoffers his wish list in exchange for Rauners property tax freeze.

*Sunday Springfield story:With a week to go, Rauner and Madigan cant even agree on meeting.

*Saturday Springfield story: Rauner signsEmanuel-backed gun bill.

*Rauner names new DCFS director.

*Scrutinybuilds over Berrios property tax assessments; inspector general investigating.

*FAQ on Preckwinkle's Cook County soda pop tax.

*Pence stops in Chicago to meet with top Republicans.

*White House suggests one finalist for U.S. attorney postin Chicago.

*Chicago City Council poised to approve$1.3 million settlement in fatal police chase.

*Petition pushes for "Hipster Highway" bike lanein Wicker Park.

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Morning Spin: Clinton speech, special session, City Council meeting mark busy week - Chicago Tribune

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview on Sunday that after losing an election, you shouldnt blame others, only yourself.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News This Week, Schumer discussed how Democrats should move forward after their latest election loss, which they suffered on Tuesday in Georgia when Democrat Jon Ossoff was beaten by Republican Karen Handel.

Democrats need a strong, bold, sharp-edged and commonsense economic agenda, Schumer said. Policy, platform message that appeal to the middle class, that resonate with the middle class, and show that, and unite Democrats.

This economic message platform is going to resonate, Schumer added. Its what we were missing, and its not going to be baby steps; its going to be bold.

Then, likely without even realizing it, Schumer made a statement virtually identical to the many made by those who have been critical of how Clinton has handled herself since losing to Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

But you lose an election, you dont blame other people, you blame yourself, Schumer said.

Schumers claim that Democrats shouldnt blame other people seems to conflict with Clintons strategy of continuously blaming everyone but herself for losing to Trump, a candidate many analysts believed couldnt win.

In May, Clinton told New York Magazine she would have won had it not been for the actions of former FBI Director James Comey and others.

I would have won had I not been subjected to the unprecedented attacks by Comey and the Russians, aided and abetted by the suppression of the vote, particularly in Wisconsin, Clinton said.

Whoever comes next, this is not going to end. Republicans learned that if you suppress votes you win, Clinton added.

A number of Democrats have since grown frustrated with Clintons blame game, which they believe will hurt the partys long-term chances.

In June, after Clinton bashed the partys voter data, which she called mediocre to poor, former Democratic Party data director Andrew Therriault said, DNC data folks, todays accusations are f***ing bulls**t, and I hope you understand the good you did despite that nonsense, Therriault tweeted, according to the Washington Examiner.

Although it seems as though Schumer didnt intend to knock Clinton in Sundays interview, his message is one many in both the Democratic Party and Republican Party have been attempting to convey to Clinton in recent months so far, to no avail.

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Chuck Schumer accidentally crushes Hillary Clinton in latest interview - TheBlaze.com

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks to members of the media as she makes a statement on the Dallas killing of police officers July 8, 2016 at the Justice Department in Washington, DC.Alex Wong/Getty Images

Senate Judiciary Committee leaders on Friday said they are seeking information about former Attorney General Loretta Lynch's alleged interference in Hillary Clinton's private email investigation .

The bipartisan group is inquiring about Lynch's communication with Clinton campaign aide Amanda Renteria whom Lynch reportedly assured that the FBI's investigation wouldn't "go too far" as well as documents and information indicating whether the agency probed that alleged conversation.

Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with other lawmakers including 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham, sent letters to Lynch earlier this week with the request.

A spokesman for Lynch said the former attorney general "will cooperate fully with this inquiry and respond directly to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

"Ms. Lynch is a committed public servant who has dedicated much of her career to the Department of Justice and led the department as attorney general in the fair and impartial administration of justice," a spokesman said in a statement Friday.

The inquiries about Lynch's communication are part of a larger examination of President Donald Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey , who was overseeing the Clinton probe at the time.

In a testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, Comey said that Lynch during the Clinton probe told him: "Dont call it [an investigation]. Call it a matter. Just call it a matter."

"It gave me a queasy feeling," Comey said in the testimony .

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Senate Investigating Loretta Lynch's Alleged Interference in Hillary Clinton Email Probe - TIME