House Dems request documents on decision to ease sanctions for Russian oligarch
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Photo: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Democratic chairs of the House Intelligence Committee, Financial Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee have asked the Treasury Department to hand over documents related to the Trump administration's decision to ease sanctions on companies linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The backdrop: Treasury lifted sanctions Sunday on three companies linked to Deripaska, who once employed former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and is under scrutiny for his possible involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 election. When Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin briefed lawmakers on the decision to lift sanctions, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it "one of the worst classified briefings" she'd ever received.