Swordsmyth
12-22-2017, 05:39 PM
Christopher Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/), the former British spy who fueled an ongoing investigation into President Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/)’s administration, was a lot more confident of his charges when he wrote his now-notorious 2016 dossier than he is today in defending it in a libel lawsuit.
While Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) stated matter-of-factly in his dossier that collusion between Mr. Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) and the Russian government took place, he called it only “possible” months later in court filings. While he confidently referred to “trusted” sources inside the Kremlin, in court he referred to the dossier’s “limited intelligence.”
In recent weeks, the dossier of opposition research has taken on added importance in the debate over the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into suspected Russia coordination and whether it is biased against Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) people. Congressional Republicans are demanding that the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) explain how the deeply contested, Democrat-financed document took on such importance in a major government investigation.
Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) wrote 35 pages of memos in which he said Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) aides were part of a vast conspiracy with Moscow to interfere in the election against Hillary Clinton. The unverified charges were spread by Fusion GPS, the Washington (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/washington/)-based political research firm that first commissioned the report. Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) bragged to Mother Jones magazine (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mother-jones-magazine/) that he started the Mueller investigation by convincing FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) agents that summer about the credibility of his dossier.
It was later revealed that the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton helped fund the dossier, meaning that in essence her paid agent was spreading unsubstantiated charges to get to the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) to investigate her opponent, critics say.
Now that Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) must defend those charges in a London courtroom, his confidence level has shifted down several notches.
More at: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/20/christopher-steele-hedges-russia-dossier-claims-ag/
While Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) stated matter-of-factly in his dossier that collusion between Mr. Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) and the Russian government took place, he called it only “possible” months later in court filings. While he confidently referred to “trusted” sources inside the Kremlin, in court he referred to the dossier’s “limited intelligence.”
In recent weeks, the dossier of opposition research has taken on added importance in the debate over the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into suspected Russia coordination and whether it is biased against Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) people. Congressional Republicans are demanding that the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) explain how the deeply contested, Democrat-financed document took on such importance in a major government investigation.
Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) wrote 35 pages of memos in which he said Trump (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/) aides were part of a vast conspiracy with Moscow to interfere in the election against Hillary Clinton. The unverified charges were spread by Fusion GPS, the Washington (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/washington/)-based political research firm that first commissioned the report. Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) bragged to Mother Jones magazine (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mother-jones-magazine/) that he started the Mueller investigation by convincing FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) agents that summer about the credibility of his dossier.
It was later revealed that the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton helped fund the dossier, meaning that in essence her paid agent was spreading unsubstantiated charges to get to the FBI (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) to investigate her opponent, critics say.
Now that Mr. Steele (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christopher-steele/) must defend those charges in a London courtroom, his confidence level has shifted down several notches.
More at: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/20/christopher-steele-hedges-russia-dossier-claims-ag/