![]() ![]() The dossier was effectively hearsay, providing useful leads, but not fact-which is what separates it from bonafide primary sources that journalists reproduce for their readers, like court documents. BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith defended the release of the dossier as a victory for transparency and press freedom in a New York Times op-ed Wednesday, but it remains hard to argue that publishing unverified information aided the press. Parts of the dossier have been borne out, especially as regards Russian hacking efforts and meetings between Carter Page and Russians, but the vast majority remains unverified (though Steele reportedly believes it is largely correct). What’s notable about the dossier is that it appears not to have been intended as a statement of ultimate truth for public consumption: It was what Steele’s sources were telling him, and what he as an intelligence veteran believed to be persuasive, but it was not proven. Steele, upset, cut off contact with the FBI at that point, Simpson said. ![]() Steele had begun passing information from the dossier to the FBI, believing it potentially relevant to national security, but that day, The New York Times published a front-page story saying the FBI had found no evidence linking Trump to Russia. The October 31, 2016, date turned out to be significant, according to Simpson’s testimony. initially misled the public about that meeting as well. ![]() had been told ahead of the meeting that the Kremlin backed his father. We have also learned of a meeting at Trump Tower where Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort were told they would receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton from a Russian lawyer, and that Trump Jr. Two ex-aides, including his former national security adviser, have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russians. While there’s not yet any public evidence to indicate a crime was committed, or that Trump was involved, it is clear that the Trump campaign and later transition were eager to work with Russia, and to keep that secret. It’s no wonder Trump is upset about the dossier, but his mantra that “there was no collusion everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion” rings false these days. The release of the full dossier shifted the focus, away from Russia’s role narrowly and toward whether Trump’s campaign was working with Russia, culminating in an FBI investigation into that question, since handed off to special counsel Robert Mueller. In early October 2016, the Obama administration had publicly accused Russia of interfering in the election, and Donald Trump’s refusal to accept that conclusion had puzzled many observers, but the material in the dossier first began to reach the public with an October 31 Mother Jones report that said a former British intelligence officer had provided the FBI information that suggested Russia was cultivating Trump as an asset. The dossier, and BuzzFeed’s controversial decision to release it, both feed Trump’s sense of paranoia. Asked about the comment by CNN Wednesday, Grassley suggested a conversation with Trump would be inappropriate. For another, that statement veers close to Trump trying (once again) to interfere in an investigation into him. For one, Republicans lead both houses of Congress. Trump’s insistence that “Republicans should finally take control” is important. Republicans should finally take control! - Donald J. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. Democrats and Republicans had offered contradictory reports of how cooperative Simpson was, and the release elicited an angry reaction from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. ![]() The dossier is back in the news not just because of the anniversary, but because on Tuesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat, released the transcript of an interview with Glenn Simpson, whose firm, Fusion GPS, contracted with former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to look into Trump, eventually leading to the dossier. The two documents, the dossier and the book, may prove to be bookends for the first phase of the Trump presidency, and both are fascinating looks at Trump that depend on opaquely sourced and largely unverified information. It’s fitting that this week, as Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury consumes Washington, also marks the anniversary of the publication of the Trump dossier, the collection of intelligence about the president’s ties to Russia. ![]()
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