Tag: dossier

Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation.

The following article by Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website February 6, 2018:

The Russia probe got its start with a drunken conversation, an ex-spy, WikiLeaks and a distracted FBI. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

In the fall of 2016, a little more than a month before Donald Trump was elected president, Christopher Steele had theundivided attention of the FBI.

For months, the British former spy had been working to alert the Americans to what he believed were disturbing ties Trump had to Russia. He had grown so worried about what he had learned from his Russia network about the Kremlin’s plans that he told colleagues it was like “sitting on a nuclear weapon.” Continue reading “Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation.”

Lawmakers dispute ‘vindication’ for Trump in Intel memo

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website February 4, 2018:

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said: “I think it is fair to ask the deputy attorney general, ‘What did you know at the time you signed one of the applications?'” Credit: AP Photo

Democrats on Sunday argued that the release of a controversial memo accusing the Justice Department of surveillance abuses does not vindicate President Trump in the Russia investigation — and Republicans are also avoiding declarations of Trump’s exoneration.

Trump made the claim that the memo “totally vindicates” him in the Russia investigation in a Saturday tweet following the memo’s release the day before.

But Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC on Sunday that he doesn’t believe the memo vindicates Trump. Several other Republicans argued that the memo was not about the ongoing investigation. Continue reading “Lawmakers dispute ‘vindication’ for Trump in Intel memo”

What you need to know about Christopher Steele, the FBI and the Trump ‘dossier’

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website January 9, 2019:

The Russia probe got its start with a drunken conversation, an ex-spy, WikiLeaks and a distracted FBI. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“Mr. Steele was on the payroll of Fusion GPS, who was being paid by the Democratic Party to do opposition research on Donald Trump. That while he was working with the FBI, he was shopping this dossier all over the world. That’s not what an informant should do.”
— Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Jan. 7, 2018

Graham and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, on Jan. 5 referredChristopher Steele, the author of the “dossier” alleging ties between President Trump and Russia, for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. The move is an unexpected twist in the saga over the document, which was gossiped about in journalistic circles during the 2016 presidential election until a version was published by BuzzFeed shortly before Trump’s inauguration. Continue reading “What you need to know about Christopher Steele, the FBI and the Trump ‘dossier’”

Fusion GPS to Congress: Release our testimony

The following article by the Politico staff was posted on their website January 3, 2018:

The U.S. flag flies in front of the Capitol Dome, May 2017. Credit: AP/Susan Walsh.

The founders of Fusion GPS took to the pages of The New York Times to push back against Republicans who have attacked the firm over a dossier related to the Trump Russia investigation — and to urge that their testimony be released.

“We are happy to correct the record. In fact, we already have,” wrote Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch in an op-ed published Tuesday under the headline “The Republicans’ Fake Investigations.” Continue reading “Fusion GPS to Congress: Release our testimony”

We just got a huge sign that the US intelligence community believes the Trump dossier is legitimate

The following article by Natasha Bertrand was posted on the Business Insider website April 19, 2017:

The FBI reportedly used the explosive, unverified dossier detailing President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia to bolster its case for a warrant that would allow it to surveil Carter Page, an early foreign-policy adviser to Trump’s campaign.

It’s a key signal that the FBI had enough confidence in the validity of the document to work to corroborate it and present it in court.

The FBI has been using the dossier as a “roadmap” for its investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election since last year, the BBC’s Paul Wood reported last month. The document itself was not central to the bureau’s argument before a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that Page could have been acting as an agent of Russia, according to CNN. Continue reading “We just got a huge sign that the US intelligence community believes the Trump dossier is legitimate”

FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier

The following article by Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website February 28, 2017:

Reuters / BI

The former British spy who authored a controversial dossier on behalf of Donald Trump’s political opponents alleging ties between Trump and Russia reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work, according to several people familiar with the arrangement.

The agreement to compensate former MI6 agent Christopher Steele came as U.S. intelligence agencies reached a consensus that the Russians had interfered in the presidential election by orchestrating hacks of Democratic Party email accounts. Continue reading “FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier”