A group of House Republicans has been quietly investigating the Justice Department and the FBI for weeks over concerns the agencies improperly handled the unverified contents of a dossier alleging ties between President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and Russia.

Politico reported Wednesday that the group, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes Devin Gerald NunesOvernight Defense: Stopgap spending measure awaits Senate vote | Trump nominates former Nunes aide for intelligence community watchdog | Trump extends ban on racial discrimination training to contractors, military Trump nominates former Nunes aide to serve as intel community inspector general Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election MORE (R-Calif.), has been quietly working without the knowledge of the committee's Democrats alongside the House investigation to examine what they see as corruption in the nation's highest law enforcement body.

The dossier, which was compiled by a former British intelligence agent during the 2016 campaign, contained a number of salacious allegations about Trump's ties to Russia. Trump was warned personally about the dossier by the FBI, which has said the claims made within are unverified.

Other lawmakers reported to be in the group would not comment about the meetings, but did not deny their existence nor the lawmakers' personal participation.

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"I don't talk about what we do behind closed doors," Rep. Mike Conaway Kenneth (Mike) Michael ConawayBottom line House Republican introduces amendment to include farm aid in stopgap funding bill Live coverage: Democrats, Republicans seek to win PR battle in final House impeachment hearing MORE (R-Texas) told Politico. Conaway also took over the House's investigation into Russia's election meddling after Nunes recused himself earlier this year.

"I'm not going to talk about that," said Rep. Pete King Peter (Pete) KingTrump holds private funeral service for brother Robert Trump at White House Cheney clashes with Trump Coronavirus Report: The Hill's Steve Clemons interviews Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney MORE (R-N.Y.), when asked by Politico.

Nunes, who stepped away from his work on the Russia probe over meetings at the White House viewed by some as improper, has questioned the integrity of law enforcement agencies in past interviews.

"I hate to use the word corrupt, but they’ve become at least so dirty that who’s watching the watchmen? Who’s investigating these people?" Nunes said on Fox News earlier in December. "There is no one."

The committee's Democrats responded to the news by saying they hadn't heard of the meetings, but were unsurprised by the GOP's latest efforts to discredit Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation.

"I think what we are seeing in our committee ... is an effort to attack the Department of Justice, an effort to attack the FBI, to attack Bob Mueller, is an effort to undermine the investigations and these institutions out of fear of what they’ll find and try to discredit them in advance," said ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffPelosi, Democrats unveil bills to rein in alleged White House abuses of power Chris Matthews ripped for complimenting Trump's 'true presidential behavior' on Ginsburg Trump casts doubt on Ginsburg statement, wonders if it was written by Schiff, Pelosi or Schumer MORE (D-Calif.). "It’s a pernicious thing to do that will ultimately inflict long-term damage on these institutions."