During the Republican Primaries, Fusion GPS, a Research Firm founded by a former Journalist, Glenn R. Simpson, was hired by The Washington Free Beacon, a Conservative Website, to Unearth potentially Damaging Information about Trump. The Free Beacon, which was Funded by a Major Donor supporting Trump’s Rival for the Party’s Nomination, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Then they told Fusion GPS to Stop doing Research on Trump, in May 2016, as Trump was Clinching the Republican Nomination.

So now Fusion GPS needed a New Funder, and was hired, on behalf of Mrs. Clinton’s Campaign and the DNC, by their Law Firm, Perkins Coie, to continue Compiling Research about Trump, his Businesses, Associates, and possible Connections with Russia. It was at that point that Fusion GPS hired Mr. Steele.

It is a 35-page Collection of Research Memos, written by Christopher Steele, a respected former British Intelligence Agent, Primarily during the 2016 Presidential Campaign. The Memos allege a multifaceted Conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and the Russian Government. The Memos also detail Unsubstantiated Accounts of Encounters between Trump and Russian Prostitutes, Real Estate Deals that were intended as Bribes, among other Claims about Trump’s Businesses.

Republicans have Criticized the Dossier since it was First Publicly Disseminated when BuzzFeed published it in January 2017. Trump has blasted it as “fake news” and “phony stuff,” and alleged that it is part of a Broader Witch Hunt intended to cast Doubt on his Victory. His Allies now contend that the Allegations in the Dossier are Discredited by the Fact that it was Funded, at least partially, by the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Trump asserted in October, that the Democrats’ payments for the research were the Real Collusion.

Democrats argue that who Paid for the Research, is irrelevant to the Veracity of its Claims, which they say should be thoroughly Investigated. Yet some of the Democrats who Funded the Dossier have been wary of being Associated with it.

The Lead Perkins Coie Lawyer, representing both the Campaign and the DNC, Marc Elias, pushed back when asked whether his Firm was the Client for the Dossier, whether he Possessed it before the Election, and whether he was Involved in efforts to encourage Media Outlets to Write about its Contents.

The Veteran Democratic Consultant, Anita Dunn, who is working with Perkins Coie, explained Elias’s earlier Response. “Obviously, he was not at liberty to confirm Perkins Coie as the client at that point, and should perhaps have ‘no commented’ more artfully,” Dunn wrote.

Campaigns and Party Committees frequently Pay Companies to Assemble what’s known in Politics as, Opposition Research, essentially Damaging Information about their Opponents, and nothing is Illegal about the Practice.

Officials from the Clinton Campaign and the DNC, have said they were Unaware that Perkins Coie facilitated the Research on their behalf, even though the Law Firm was using their Money to Pay for it. Even Clinton found about Steele’s Research, only after BuzzFeed published the Dossier. But she was Disappointed that the Research, as well as the fact that the FBI, was looking into Connections between Trump’s Associates and Russia, was Not made Public before Election Day.

But Word of the Memos, and their Contents had Circulated in Washington Political and Media Circles, before the Election. In British Court Filings, Steele’s Lawyers said that he and Fusion GPS briefed Journalists from a Range of Media Outlets, including The New York Times, on his Research starting in September 2016.

Yet the Research and even the Existence of the Dossier were Not reported by the Media, with the exception of Mother Jones Magazine, which Published a Story in the days before the Election that described the Dossier, its Origin, and Significance, while Omitting the Salacious Claims.

James B. Comey, the former FBI Director, whose Firing by Trump prompted the Appointment of a Special Counsel to Oversee the Justice Department’s Russia Investigation, received a Copy of the Memos after Election Day, from Senator John McCain (R-AZ). McCain had dispatched David J. Kramer, a former Top State Department Official, to obtain the Dossier directly from Steele. And before Election Day, the FBI reached an Agreement to Pay Steele to continue his Research, though that Plan was Scrapped after the Dossier was Published.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker