Republicans recommend criminal investigation against Christopher Steele -- the author of Trump-Russia dossier

Two Republican Senators are seeking a criminal investigation against Christopher Steele, the former MI6 spy who wrote the infamous intelligence dossier that allegedly revealed deep connections between the Russian government and President Donald Trump.

The New York Times reports that "Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a senior committee member, told the Justice Department they had reason to believe that... Steele lied to federal authorities about his contacts with reporters regarding information in the dossier, and they urged the department to investigate."

Even though the referral for investigation doesn't recommend pressing criminal charges against Steele, the Times notes that it is the first investigative referral issued by Senate Republicans -- and it isn't against anyone who interfered in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Russia.

“I don’t take lightly making a referral for criminal investigation. But, as I would with any credible evidence of a crime unearthed in the course of our investigations, I feel obliged to pass that information along to the Justice Department,” Grassley said in a press release.

Additionally, the Times notes that the referral "appears to make no assessment of the veracity of the dossier’s contents, much of which remains unsubstantiated nearly a year after it became public."