You expect us to be honest?

Republicans continue to use the Steele dossier as a proxy for the entire investigation into the Trump campaign’s association with Russian officials. It’s now clear that the FBI investigation started months before a meeting with one of the people behind the dossier. It’s also clear that Republicans are editing, distorting and simply lying about the dossier itself. The dossier has become the top talking point for Republicans on the attack, a synonym for “everything behind this investigation is a fake.”

The problem for Republicans is that the leaders of the actual company that funded the dossier, Fusion GPS, have appeared before Congress for more than twenty hours of testimony. They’ve answered questions, cleared up misconceptions, and defended the integrity of both the dossier’s contents and the process through which it was generated.

Releasing those transcripts would blow an XXL-sized hole through the lies Republicans have been telling about the dossier, the FBI investigation and about Trump’s Russian connections. Which is why Republicans have hidden the transcripts.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley doesn’t plan to release the committee’s transcript from a closed-door interview with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson in its Russia probe -- at least for now -- despite a request from two Democrats, according to a spokesman for the Iowa Republican.

Grassley is now in the ludicrous position of having issued a criminal complaint against British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, while simultaneously repressing the information that supports Steele’s work. The dossier is not what the Republicans have claimed, but they need information to stay hidden so they can keep up their claims.

It’s as dishonest as if Republicans had charged someone with criminal actions, but then classified all the defense evidence. In fact, that’s exactly what’s going on.