The Senate Judiciary Committee is examining whether the Justice Department improperly moved to shut down an inquiry into the Clinton campaign’s funding of the Steele dossier.
Committee Chairman Sen. Charles E. Grassley said a whistleblower has alleged that two senior officials involved in the Justice Department’s Arctic Frost investigation of President Trump previously played key roles in blocking an FBI probe into Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, the Washington Times reported on Friday.
Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, released email exchanges from June 2019 between an unidentified FBI agent and Richard Pilger, then an official in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, along with J.P. Cooney, who at the time served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The emails show Pilger and Cooney rejecting the agent’s questions regarding what the agent described as the “unambiguous concealment” of payments made by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to fund the Steele dossier, compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
The DNC and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign hired the research firm Fusion GPS to help produce the dossier, which contained unverified allegations about then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and saddle him with a phony scandal linking him to Russia. The payments were reported as legal expenses, obscuring the political nature of the project.
In a message to a supervisor, the FBI agent said Pilger made obvious threats that the agent said were “intended to have a chilling effect and stop me from asking questions” about the Clinton and DNC funding, the Times reported.
“In my [redacted] years of being an agent, a successful agent with a great reputation, I have never been met with such suspicion or response intended to have me go away,” the FBI agent noted.
Pilger, who served as director of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch, later played a significant role in authorizing the Arctic Frost investigation into former President Trump’s conduct following the 2020 election. That probe, led by then-Special Counsel Jack Smith, resulted in Trump being indicted on election-interference charges.
Cooney served as Smith’s deputy during the investigation, the Times reported.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, Sen. Grassley requested additional records and emails related to the FBI’s earlier inquiry into the DNC and Clinton campaign payments to Fusion GPS, which he said appeared to have been halted by Justice Department officials.
“These records show the same partisans who rushed to cover for Clinton rabidly pursued Arctic Frost, which was a runaway train aimed directly at President Trump and the Republican political apparatus,” Grassley wrote.
In a June 21, 2019, email, Pilger criticized an FBI agent for seeking to open an investigation into whether payments had been concealed, accusing the agent of showing “bias” and acting with “a rush to judgment.” A week earlier, on June 14, Cooney had advised the same agent that the issue “is not a good candidate to open for a false reporting case,” noting that Fusion GPS had been retained by the Clinton campaign’s law firm, Perkins Coie, rather than by the campaign itself.
“Although not typically what we think of as legal services, I think we would have an exceedingly difficult time proving it was a willfully false report,” Cooney said in a note to the agent, the Times reported.
The dossier — later discredited as a collection of unverified claims — alleged improper ties between Trump and Russia. The document circulated ahead of the 2016 presidential election and was subsequently cited by the FBI, then led by Director James Comey, to support the opening of a secret investigation into the Trump campaign.
The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee were not criminally investigated over the underlying payments but instead faced civil penalties after watchdog groups filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission, said the Times.
In 2022, the FEC fined the Clinton campaign $8,000 and the DNC $105,000 for misreporting more than $1 million in payments to the law firm Perkins Coie, which used the funds to hire Fusion GPS.
A quiet moment. A rising star. A photograph freezes Kim Cattrall in time, her expression calm, her gaze steady, her presence magnetic even without words. To many, it looks like nothing more than a poised young actress caught mid-thought. But those who know her story understand that behind this serene image lies an untold chapter of Hollywood — one where extraordinary talent nearly slipped through the cracks.
Kim Cattrall in the mid-1980s was not a household name. She was, however, already a survivor of an industry that often celebrated beauty but underestimated complexity. She had worked consistently since her late teens, but like so many actors, she found herself orbiting the margins of true stardom, sometimes just one role away, sometimes overlooked for being “too much” or “not quite enough” of whatever box casting directors wanted filled. This photograph captures her at that precipice — on the verge of either fading into anonymity or breaking through in a way that would change everything.
Born in Liverpool, England, in 1956, Kim Cattrall emigrated with her family to Vancouver, Canada, when she was just three months old. Her early years were far removed from the glitz of Hollywood, but by her teenage years, her passion for acting was undeniable. She moved to New York at 16 to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, a bold step for someone so young. Soon after, she caught the attention of director Otto Preminger, who signed her to a film contract, giving her one of her first significant opportunities.
The late 1970s brought television guest spots and small roles in films, each one building her résumé but never quite granting her the spotlight she deserved. By the early 1980s, audiences began recognizing her in comedies like
Porky’s (1981) and Police Academy (1984). These roles gave her visibility, but they also pigeonholed her as the glamorous supporting character — eye-catching, witty, but not fully fleshed out. Still, she had something more, a kind of spark that people remembered even after the credits rolled.
The Hollywood of 1985 was not particularly kind to actresses who straddled multiple archetypes. You were either the ingénue, the serious dramatic actress, or the femme fatale. Cattrall was somehow all of these and none of them at once. She could play seductive, but she could also play funny. She could command a room, but she was equally skilled at showing vulnerability. In an industry that liked tidy labels, this complexity worked against her. And yet, it was exactly that complexity that would one day make her unforgettable.
Those who encountered her during these years often remarked on her paradoxical energy: approachable yet commanding, glamorous yet grounded. She could deliver a biting one-liner with the precision of a comedian, then shift to quiet intensity in a dramatic role. Producers and directors weren’t always sure what to do with her — but fellow actors knew they were in the presence of someone who was more than the sum of her parts.
The photograph from 1985 — that quiet moment of composure — reflects this tension. She looks like a woman fully aware of her own power, even if the industry hadn’t caught up yet. There’s no desperation in her gaze, no evidence of doubt. Instead, there’s patience, a kind of steady resilience. Perhaps she already understood that her breakthrough would come not from fitting into someone else’s mold, but from creating her own.
And, of course, it did. Years later, in 1998, Kim Cattrall would redefine television with her portrayal of Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. The role was unlike anything else on TV at the time — a woman who was unapologetically sexual, fiercely independent, and yet deeply loyal to her friends. Cattrall didn’t just play Samantha; she imbued her with intelligence, humor, and heart, elevating what could have been a caricature into one of television’s most beloved and groundbreaking characters. Critics who had once overlooked her were forced to take notice. Awards followed, as did legions of fans who saw in Samantha a new model of female autonomy.
Looking back, that 1985 photo feels almost prophetic. It shows a woman who had already done the hard work of surviving Hollywood’s indifference, who had endured typecasting and near-misses, but who refused to compromise her individuality. She wasn’t waiting for permission to be herself — she was simply waiting for the world to be ready.
Beyond Sex and the City, Cattrall has proven her range time and again. From stage performances in Shakespeare and Noël Coward to roles in films like Mannequin and Big Trouble in Little China
, she has consistently challenged herself and her audiences. Even her decision to step back from Hollywood’s spotlight at times speaks to her autonomy; she has never been interested in chasing fame for fame’s sake. Instead, she’s crafted a career on her own terms, much like the woman captured in that quiet 1985 moment.
Today, Kim Cattrall stands as both a survivor and an innovator in entertainment. Her journey reminds us that sometimes the brightest stars don’t flare instantly — they build over time, shaped by resilience, depth, and an unwillingness to conform. That single photograph from 1985, before Samantha Jones, before the red carpets and Emmy nominations, offers a glimpse into the essence of who she’s always been: a woman with a story Hollywood almost missed, but one she refused to let go untold.
Because the truth is, the calm composure in that rare image wasn’t just about patience. It was about certainty — the quiet confidence of someone who knew she was destined to leave her mark, no matter how long it took.