The House intelligence committee is looking at the data analysis company Cambridge Analytica, which worked for Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election, the Daily Beast reports.
The data-mining and data analysis company is turning over documents to the committee as part of its investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. Steven Bannon, Donald Trump’s former campaign chief who became chief White House strategist, holds a stake in the company that’s valued between $1 million and $5 million; he also formerly served as vice president of the board.
One source told the Daily Beast the committees’ probe of the company is “fruitful.”
Jared Kushner, Trumps’ son-in-law and a top White House advisor, told Forbes in 2016 that micro-targeting was at the forefront of the campaign’s digital operation. “I called somebody who works for one of the technology companies that I work with, and I had them give me a tutorial on how to use Facebook micro-targeting,” Kushner explained. “We brought in Cambridge Analytica. I called some of my friends from Silicon Valley who were some of the best digital marketers in the world.”
One of the major investors in Cambridge Analytica is Robert Mercer, the billionaire Trump backer who also helped bankroll Breitbart.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), who sits on the House intelligence committee, told Vanity Fair in September she wonders if the data operation played a role in Russia’s targeted attack on the U.S. presidential election.
“I think the Russians had help,” Speier said. “I’ve always wondered if Cambridge Analytica was part of that.”