Difference between revisions of "Steele dossier"

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{{Publication
 
{{Publication
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Russia_dossier
+
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steele_dossier
 
|authors=Christopher Steele
 
|authors=Christopher Steele
|description=A dossier of smears
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|description=A dossier of smears concocted by [[Christopher Steele]] of [[Orbis Business Intelligence]].
 +
|type=dossier
 +
|constitutes=black propaganda
 
|publication_date=10 January 2017
 
|publication_date=10 January 2017
 
}}
 
}}
 
''Not to be confused with the ''[[Dodgy dossier]]'' created by MI6's [[Operation Mass Appeal]].''
 
''Not to be confused with the ''[[Dodgy dossier]]'' created by MI6's [[Operation Mass Appeal]].''
  
The [[Trump–Russia 'golden showers' dossier]], also known as the '''Dirty dossier'''<ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/dirty-dossier</ref> or the '''Steele dossier'''<ref>{{cite news |first=Kenneth P. |last=Vogel |authorlink= Kenneth Vogel |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman |authorlink2= Maggie Haberman |title=Conservative Website First Funded Anti-Trump Research by Firm That Later Produced Dossier |date=October 27, 2017 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/politics/trump-dossier-paul-singer.html | access-date=April 1, 2018 }}</ref>
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{{SMWQ
 +
|text= The dossier was given credence only because it was backed by very powerful people who insisted that this obvious British hoax must be taken with absolute dead seriousness. Not taking it seriously or speaking out about its obvious flakiness was a career ender in the national security state.
 +
|source_URL=https://larouchepac.com/20190112/part-iii-british-intelligence-fraud-creates-coup-against-donald-trump
 +
|date=12 January 2019
 +
|subjects=Steele dossier
 +
|source_title=Part III: A British Intelligence Fraud Creates the Coup Against Donald Trump
 +
|authors=Barbara Boyd
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
The '''Steele dossier'''<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/politics/trump-dossier-paul-singer.html | access-date=April 1, 2018</ref>, '''Dirty dossier'''<ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/dirty-dossier</ref> or '''Trump dossier'''<ref>https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/02/skri-m02.html</ref>, was a key part of the attempt to tie the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] election win in 2016 with Russia. Like all other parts of [[Russiagate]], the sensationalist allegations eventually fizzled out into nothing.
  
 
==Origins==
 
==Origins==
The dossier is a [[Orbis Business Intelligence|private intelligence]] report comprising 17 memos that were written from June to December 2016<ref>{{cite news | last=Shane | first=Scott | last2=Confessore | first2=Nicholas | last3=Rosenberg | first3=Matthew | title=How a Sensational, Unverified Dossier Became a Crisis for Donald Trump | work=The New York Times | date=January 12, 2017 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html | access-date=February 11, 2018}}</ref> by [[Christopher Steele]], a former head of the [[Russia]] Desk for [[Secret Intelligence Service|British intelligence]] ([[MI6]]).
+
In 2017, it was revealed <ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html</ref> that the dossier was commissioned by [[Marc Elias]], a lawyer at [[Perkins Coie]] law firm in [[Washington]], DC, and once represented [[Hillary Clinton]]’s presidential campaign. Elias hired the [[Fusion GPS]] opposition research firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC).<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/04/marc-elias-democrat-lawyer-who-pushed-vote-by-mail-in-2020-also-behind-russia-dossier-in-2016/</ref>
 +
 
 +
Fusion GPS, in turn, hired former British spy [[Christopher Steele]] and his [[Orbis Business Intelligence|private intelligence]] to compile a dossier comprising 17 memos that were written from June to December 2016<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html | access-date=February 11, 2018}}</ref> Steel was a former head of the [[Russia]] Desk for [[Secret Intelligence Service|British intelligence]] ([[MI6]]), now gone into 'private' (i.e. [[plausibly deniable]]) business.
  
 
==Contents==
 
==Contents==
 
The dossier contains allegations of misconduct and conspiracy between [[Donald Trump]]'s presidential campaign and the Government of [[Russia]] during the [[2016 United States presidential election]]. Campaign members and Russian operatives allegedly colluded to interfere in the election and benefit Trump.  
 
The dossier contains allegations of misconduct and conspiracy between [[Donald Trump]]'s presidential campaign and the Government of [[Russia]] during the [[2016 United States presidential election]]. Campaign members and Russian operatives allegedly colluded to interfere in the election and benefit Trump.  
 +
 +
The dossier contained the infamous [[pee tape]] allegations, which claimed [[Donald Trump]] had a urine-soaked run-in with Russian sex workers while staying in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton in [[Moscow]], which then again was filmed by Russian secret services as blackmail material.
  
 
==Publication==
 
==Publication==
The dossier was published in full by ''[[BuzzFeed]]'' on January 10, 2017.<ref>{{cite web | last=Bensinger | first=Ken | last2=Elder | first2=Miriam | last3=Schoofs | first3=Mark | title=These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia | website=BuzzFeed | date=January 10, 2017 | url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia | accessdate=December 24, 2017}}</ref> Several [[corporate media]] outlets criticised ''BuzzFeed'''s decision to release it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bump |first1=Philip |title=BuzzFeed, the Russia dossier and the problem of too much information |date=January 11, 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/11/the-problem-of-too-much-information/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=July 29, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zurawik |first1=David |title=BuzzFeed undermines all journalists with Trump 'dossier' |date=January 11, 2017 |accessdate=January 10, 2018 |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-buzzfeed--trump-dossier-journalism-debased-20170111-story.html |work=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref>
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The dossier was published in full by ''[[BuzzFeed]]'' on January 10, 2017.<ref>https://www.buzzfeed.com/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia | accessdate=December 24, 2017</ref> Several [[corporate media]] outlets criticised ''BuzzFeed'''s decision to release it,<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/11/the-problem-of-too-much-information/</ref><ref>http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-buzzfeed--trump-dossier-journalism-debased-20170111-story.html</ref> but chose to report about it extensively it themselves anyway, as Buzzfeed had whitewashed the dubious claims to respectability. Buzzfeed editor [[Ben Smith]] suffered no negative career consequences for it, and in [[2022]] was rewarded with becoming editor of the generously funded ''[[Semafor]]''.
 +
 
 +
==MI6 connection==
 +
Analyst [[Ludwig De Braeckeleer]]<ref>''[https://gosint.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/russiagate-prosecutor-to-review-origins-of-trump-russia-inquiry/ "Russiagate — Prosecutor to Review Origins of Trump-Russia Inquiry"]''</ref> pointed out that the [[Mueller Report]] ignores the following facts on the role the Steele dossier and [[MI6]] played in the [[Russiagate]] hoax:
 +
 
 +
Luke Harding "wrote the book ''Collusion'' to legitimize Steele’s dossier, [and] has served for a very long time as Steele’s publicist and scribe while conducting similar trysts with other major British intelligence figures. Harding has worked with both Hakluyt and Orbis."<ref>https://larouchepac.com/20190112/part-iii-british-intelligence-fraud-creates-coup-against-donald-trump</ref>
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* [[Christopher Steele]] met with the [[FBI]]’s [[Peter Strzok]] in July 2016.
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* During the summer of 2016, [[Robert Hannigan]], then head of [[GCHQ]], flew to [[Washington]] to brief [[John Brennan]] personally.
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* [[CIA Director]] [[John Brennan]] then briefed Senate Minority leader [[Harry Reid]] in August 2016 on the Steele dossier.
 +
 
 +
* By this process of washing dubious information, this briefing then led Reid to send [[FBI Director]] [[James Comey]] a letter demanding an investigation of the collusion between [[Donald Trump]] and the [[Russia]]ns.
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 +
* The Steele dossier was also a key foundation for the [[FISA]] warrant issued to spy on Trump's close aide [[Carter Page]], in the hope of finding incriminating information, or getting Page to prejudice himself in police interviews by giving statements conflicting with the tapes.
 +
 
 +
==FBI==
 +
When the FBI received the dossier from Steele in 2016, they willingly played along in the fabrication by cutting a number of corners in the verification process. Senior FBI analyst [[Brian J. Auten]] was responsible for vetting the Steele-dossier.
 +
 
 +
But during a 2020 review of Auten's procedures, Inspector General [[Michael Horowitz]] discovered that when Auten interviewed "Steele's primary sub-source" in January 2017 about the Steele-dossier, the source disavowed key allegations in the dossier, and told Auten that Steele "misstated or exaggerated” information he conveyed to him in multiple sections of the dossier.
 +
 
 +
According to the 2020 Inspector General's report, Auten stated he wasn’t concerned about Steele’s anti-Trump bias or that his work was commissioned by Trump’s political opponent, calling the fact he worked for [[Hillary Clinton]]'s campaign “immaterial.” <ref>https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/07/10/fbi_man_at_heart_of_surveillance_abuses_is_a_professor_of_spying_ethics_124382.html</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Source==
 +
In July 2020, the identify of the primary source for [[Christopher Steele]] was revealed by the [[Wall Street Journal]]. The main source was [[Igor Danchenko]], a Russian-born analyst living in the [[United States]], who had worked for five years at the [[Brookings Institution]] as a Russia analyst. Noticably, he is directly linked to prominent Democrats closely tied to [[Hillary Clinton]], in particular, [[Strobe Talbott]], the leader of Brookings<ref>https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2020/07/even-the-cia-thought-the-steele-dossier-was-crap-by-larry-c-johnson.html</ref>.
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{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
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==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 
{{PageCredit
 
|site=Wikipedia
 
|date=28 April 2018
 
|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trump%E2%80%93Russia_dossier&oldid=838628634
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 03:53, 30 March 2024

Publication.png Steele dossier 
(black propaganda)Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Typedossier
Publication date10 January 2017
Author(s)Christopher Steele
A dossier of smears concocted by Christopher Steele of Orbis Business Intelligence.

Not to be confused with the Dodgy dossier created by MI6's Operation Mass Appeal.

“The dossier was given credence only because it was backed by very powerful people who insisted that this obvious British hoax must be taken with absolute dead seriousness. Not taking it seriously or speaking out about its obvious flakiness was a career ender in the national security state.”
Barbara Boyd (12 January 2019)  Part III: A British Intelligence Fraud Creates the Coup Against Donald Trump [1]

The Steele dossier[2], Dirty dossier[3] or Trump dossier[4], was a key part of the attempt to tie the Trump election win in 2016 with Russia. Like all other parts of Russiagate, the sensationalist allegations eventually fizzled out into nothing.

Origins

In 2017, it was revealed [5] that the dossier was commissioned by Marc Elias, a lawyer at Perkins Coie law firm in Washington, DC, and once represented Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Elias hired the Fusion GPS opposition research firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).[6]

Fusion GPS, in turn, hired former British spy Christopher Steele and his private intelligence to compile a dossier comprising 17 memos that were written from June to December 2016[7] Steel was a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6), now gone into 'private' (i.e. plausibly deniable) business.

Contents

The dossier contains allegations of misconduct and conspiracy between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Government of Russia during the 2016 United States presidential election. Campaign members and Russian operatives allegedly colluded to interfere in the election and benefit Trump.

The dossier contained the infamous pee tape allegations, which claimed Donald Trump had a urine-soaked run-in with Russian sex workers while staying in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow, which then again was filmed by Russian secret services as blackmail material.

Publication

The dossier was published in full by BuzzFeed on January 10, 2017.[8] Several corporate media outlets criticised BuzzFeed's decision to release it,[9][10] but chose to report about it extensively it themselves anyway, as Buzzfeed had whitewashed the dubious claims to respectability. Buzzfeed editor Ben Smith suffered no negative career consequences for it, and in 2022 was rewarded with becoming editor of the generously funded Semafor.

MI6 connection

Analyst Ludwig De Braeckeleer[11] pointed out that the Mueller Report ignores the following facts on the role the Steele dossier and MI6 played in the Russiagate hoax:

Luke Harding "wrote the book Collusion to legitimize Steele’s dossier, [and] has served for a very long time as Steele’s publicist and scribe while conducting similar trysts with other major British intelligence figures. Harding has worked with both Hakluyt and Orbis."[12]

  • The Steele dossier was also a key foundation for the FISA warrant issued to spy on Trump's close aide Carter Page, in the hope of finding incriminating information, or getting Page to prejudice himself in police interviews by giving statements conflicting with the tapes.

FBI

When the FBI received the dossier from Steele in 2016, they willingly played along in the fabrication by cutting a number of corners in the verification process. Senior FBI analyst Brian J. Auten was responsible for vetting the Steele-dossier.

But during a 2020 review of Auten's procedures, Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovered that when Auten interviewed "Steele's primary sub-source" in January 2017 about the Steele-dossier, the source disavowed key allegations in the dossier, and told Auten that Steele "misstated or exaggerated” information he conveyed to him in multiple sections of the dossier.

According to the 2020 Inspector General's report, Auten stated he wasn’t concerned about Steele’s anti-Trump bias or that his work was commissioned by Trump’s political opponent, calling the fact he worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign “immaterial.” [13]

Source

In July 2020, the identify of the primary source for Christopher Steele was revealed by the Wall Street Journal. The main source was Igor Danchenko, a Russian-born analyst living in the United States, who had worked for five years at the Brookings Institution as a Russia analyst. Noticably, he is directly linked to prominent Democrats closely tied to Hillary Clinton, in particular, Strobe Talbott, the leader of Brookings[14].


 

Related Quotation

PageQuoteAuthorDate
Orbis Business Intelligence“The @Telegraph story claiming a link between Sergei #Skripal and Christopher Steele's company Orbis is wrong, I understand. Skripal had nothing to do with Trump dossier. Skripal had nothing to do with Trump dossier.”Luke Harding2018

 

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References

  1. https://larouchepac.com/20190112/part-iii-british-intelligence-fraud-creates-coup-against-donald-trump
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/politics/trump-dossier-paul-singer.html | access-date=April 1, 2018
  3. https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/dirty-dossier
  4. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/02/skri-m02.html
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html
  6. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/04/marc-elias-democrat-lawyer-who-pushed-vote-by-mail-in-2020-also-behind-russia-dossier-in-2016/
  7. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html | access-date=February 11, 2018}}
  8. https://www.buzzfeed.com/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia | accessdate=December 24, 2017
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/11/the-problem-of-too-much-information/
  10. http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-buzzfeed--trump-dossier-journalism-debased-20170111-story.html
  11. "Russiagate — Prosecutor to Review Origins of Trump-Russia Inquiry"
  12. https://larouchepac.com/20190112/part-iii-british-intelligence-fraud-creates-coup-against-donald-trump
  13. https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/07/10/fbi_man_at_heart_of_surveillance_abuses_is_a_professor_of_spying_ethics_124382.html
  14. https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2020/07/even-the-cia-thought-the-steele-dossier-was-crap-by-larry-c-johnson.html