A Republican congressman said Sunday that the Justice Department and the FBI have until next week to turn over documents about the Trump dossier, or else Congress will pursue other measures to obtain them.

Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis’ comments came after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes sent a letter Thursday to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about the Justice Department and the FBI failing to hand over the documents about President Trump.

“They have until next week to do it, and then if not, I think the house is going to have to move on to different measures to enforce compliance,” Mr. DeSantis, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News.

Congress seeks documents related to the dossier and allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The dossier was compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who was working for the U.S. opposition research firm Fusion GPS.

“Unfortunately, DOJ/FBI’s intransigence with respect to the August 24 subpoenas is part of a broader pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated,” Mr. Nunes, California Republican, said in his letter, according to Fox News.

The documents are supposed to be turned over by Wednesday.

The Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign funded the dossier, but lawmakers have asked if the dossier was used to obtain warrants to surveil the Trump campaign.

Sen. Lindsey Graham has called for a special counsel to investigate the Justice Department’s handling of the dossier.

“It bothers me greatly the way they used it, and I want somebody to look at it,” the South Carolina Republican said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The House Intelligence Committee also is subpoenaing David Kramer, a colleague of Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, to ask him about the dossier, according to several news reports.

Mr. Kramer is expected to appear before the committee Jan. 11. Lawmakers want to know about a meeting he allegedly had with Mr. Steele in November 2016.

None of the dossier’s accusations of collusion have been publicly verified. Mr. Steele, who paid Kremlin sources with Democratic cash for information, has said his dossier data required verification before publication.

Congressional Republicans have suggested the dossier was unreliable from the start and was insufficient for the FBI to launch its investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. FBI officials have not said publicly to what extent the dossier factored into the start of their Trump campaign probe in 2016.

According to a report in The New York Times, the federal investigation began after a tip from Australian officials.

Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos told Australian diplomat Alexander Downer in London in May 2016 that Russia had political “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the Times reported.

Two months later, Australian officials passed Papadopoulos’ admission to U.S. counterparts after leaked Democratic Party emails began appearing online, according to the newspaper, which cited multiple current and former U.S. and foreign officials.

The information reportedly was cited as a major factor in the FBI’s decision to open a counterintelligence investigation into Kremlin contacts with the Trump campaign.

Besides the Australian tip, the FBI probe was driven by intelligence provided by other friendly governments, including Great Britain and the Netherlands, the Times reported.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty Oct. 30 to lying to FBI agents about contacts with people who claimed to have ties to top Russian officials.

⦁ Dan Boylan contributed to this report.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.