Exclusive: Mueller's team met with Russia dossier author

Washington (CNN)Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators met this past summer with the former British spy whose dossier on alleged Russian efforts to aid the Trump campaign spawned months of investigations that have hobbled the Trump administration, according to two people familiar with the matter. Information from Christopher Steele, a former MI-6 officer, could help investigators determine whether contacts between people associated with the Trump campaign and suspected Russian operatives broke any laws.
CNN has learned that the FBI and the US intelligence community last year took the Steele dossier more seriously than the agencies have publicly acknowledged. James Clapper, then the director of national intelligence, said in a January 2017 statement that the intelligence community had "not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable." The intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, and the FBI took Steele's research seriously enough that they kept it out of a publicly-released January report on Russian meddling in the election in order to not divulge which parts of the dossier they had corroborated and how.

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Oreo said:

Mueller's team met with Russia dossier author - CNNPolitics

As we already know the firm that hired Christopher Steele--Fusion GPS did go into a 7 hour closed door hearing with the Senate Intelligence committee and they were to vote on whether to release it to the public. I think Robert Mueller stopped them from doing that until his investigation is complete.
Senate committee to vote on releasing Fusion GPS testimony | TheHill

Christopher Steele is known as the real James Bond in intelligence communities around the globe. A retired M1-6 agent that spent many years in Russia as a spy. Of course Trump has stated repeatedly that it's all a FAKE story, but they are now verifying information that was contained in that file.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...p-dossier-author-real-life-james-bond-n706376

Jeb Bush originally hired Fusion-GPS who hired Christopher Steele to do opposition research on Trump. When Bush dropped out, Democrats picked it up for a while then dropped it when Trump won. Christopher Steele, thought it serious enough to hand over to John McCain (after Trump won) who then gave it to Barack Obama, and shortly thereafter Obama kicked out all Russian diplomats out of this country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump–Russia_dossier

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Oreo said:

Mueller's team met with Russia dossier author - CNNPolitics

As we already know the firm that hired Christopher Steele--Fusion GPS did go into a 7 hour closed door hearing with the Senate Intelligence committee and they were to vote on whether to release it to the public. I think Robert Mueller stopped them from doing that until his investigation is complete.
Senate committee to vote on releasing Fusion GPS testimony | TheHill

Christopher Steele is known as the real James Bond in intelligence communities around the globe. A retired M1-6 agent that spent many years in Russia as a spy. Of course Trump has stated repeatedly that it's all a FAKE story, but they are now verifying information that was contained in that file.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...p-dossier-author-real-life-james-bond-n706376

https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/msnbc/components/video/201701/x_lon_mi6_170113.nbcnews-ux-1080-600.jpg[IMG]

Jeb Bush originally hired Fusion-GPS who hired Christopher Steele to do opposition research on Trump. When Bush dropped out, Democrats picked it up for a while then dropped it when Trump won. Christopher Steele, [B][U]thought it serious enough[/U][/B] to hand over to John McCain [U](after Trump won)[/U] who then gave it to Barack Obama, and shortly thereafter Obama kicked out all Russian diplomats out of this country.
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%E2%80%93Russia_dossier[/url][/QUOTE]

Comey thought the dossier was credible enough to show it to Trump during his first national security briefing.

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reinoe said:

So a British firm was hired to interfere with our elections? I sure hope Mueller is going to investigate this foreigner trying to interfere with our sacred and precious election process.

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Hawkeye10 said:

Unseemly at best that we are reading about this.

Does anyone care about Justice Anymore?

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reinoe said:

So a British firm was hired to interfere with our elections? I sure hope Mueller is going to investigate this foreigner trying to interfere with our sacred and precious election process.

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GCHQ first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious “interactions” between figures connected to Trump and known or suspected Russian agents, a source close to UK intelligence said. This intelligence was passed to the US as part of a routine exchange of information, they added.

Over the next six months, until summer 2016, a number of western agencies shared further information on contacts between Trump’s inner circle and Russians, sources said.

The European countries that passed on electronic intelligence – known as sigint – included Germany, Estonia and Poland. Australia, a member of the “Five Eyes” spying alliance that also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, also relayed material, one source said.

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While Donald Trump was running for president in late 2015 and early 2016, his company was pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow, according to several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers.

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Moot said:

Comey thought the dossier was credible enough to show it to Trump during his first national security briefing.

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In the midst of the 2016 presidential primary season, the FBI received what was described as a Russian intelligence document claiming a tacit understanding between the Clinton campaign and the Justice Department over the inquiry into whether she intentionally revealed classified information through her use of a private email server.

The Russian document cited a supposed email describing how then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch had privately assured someone in the Clinton campaign that the email investigation would not push too deeply into the matter. If true, the revelation of such an understanding would have undermined the integrity of the FBI’s investigation.

Current and former officials have said that Comey relied on the document in making his July decision to announce on his own, without Justice Department involvement, that the investigation was over. That public announcement — in which he criticized Clinton and made extensive comments about the evidence — set in motion a chain of other FBI moves that Democrats now say helped Trump win the presidential election.

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In the final hours of Barack Obama's presidency, some White House officials reportedly raced to spread and preserve information about possible communications between associates of then-candidate Donald Trump and Russians. The New York Times, citing former American officials, reported that these officials were concerned that the information they were gaining on the Russian meddling in the election and the possible campaign contact could be compromised with the new administration, and they wanted to set up any future investigation with the information. According to The Times, after Obama asked for an investigation into Russian tampering into the elections, officials found some "damning" evidence.

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reinoe said:

So a British firm was hired to interfere with our elections? I sure hope Mueller is going to investigate this foreigner trying to interfere with our sacred and precious election process.

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Oreo said:

Comey shouldn't have done that, he broke protocol again. I don't think anyone could trust James Comey on really anything. He actually used a Russian fake document to attack Hillary Clinton. Comey was totally incompetent, and has a Narcissistic ego that matches Trump. It's all about the lime light and the attention they can attract onto themselves.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...4f199710b69_story.html?utm_term=.f19ce9bca5ac

http://images.dailykos.com/images/321162/story_image/FBI-Director_Comey_Cartoon_Hats.jpg?1478102099[IMG]


It's well noted that Obama ordered this investigation done before he left office, and he clearly had no intention of turning it over to James Comey after what he saw him do to Hillary Clinton.


[url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/02/obama-administration-reportedly-raced-to-preserve-intelligence-on-possible-contact-between-russians-and-trump-associates.html]Obama administration reportedly raced to preserve intelligence on possible contact between Russians and Trump associates | Fox News[/url]

But you can bet Robert Mueller has it all now.[/QUOTE]

The point is that the FBI and several other Intel agencies believed the dossier was credible enough to brief both Obama and Trump about it back in January 2017....

[indent]"...In October 2016 the FBI reached an agreement with Steele to pay him to continue his work, according to involved sources reported by The Washington Post. "Steele was known for the quality of his past work and for the knowledge he had developed over nearly 20 years working on Russia-related issues for British intelligence."[18] The FBI found Steele credible and his unproved information worthy enough that it considered paying Steele to continue collecting information, but the release of the document to the public stopped discussions between Steele and the FBI.[18]

[B]Trump and Barack Obama were briefed on the existence of the dossier by the chiefs of several U.S. intelligence agencies in early January 2017.[/B] Vice President Joe Biden has confirmed that he and the president had received briefings on the dossier, and the allegations within.[19][14][20][21]..."

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%E2%80%93Russia_dossier[/url]

[url]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-s-comey-told-trump-about-russia-dossier-after-intel-n706416[/url] [/indent]

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Moot said:

The point is that the FBI and several other Intel agencies believed the dossier was credible enough to brief both Obama and Trump about it back in January 2017....

"...In October 2016 the FBI reached an agreement with Steele to pay him to continue his work, according to involved sources reported by The Washington Post. "Steele was known for the quality of his past work and for the knowledge he had developed over nearly 20 years working on Russia-related issues for British intelligence."[18] The FBI found Steele credible and his unproved information worthy enough that it considered paying Steele to continue collecting information, but the release of the document to the public stopped discussions between Steele and the FBI.[18]

Trump and Barack Obama were briefed on the existence of the dossier by the chiefs of several U.S. intelligence agencies in early January 2017. Vice President Joe Biden has confirmed that he and the president had received briefings on the dossier, and the allegations within.[19][14][20][21]..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump–Russia_dossier

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-s-comey-told-trump-about-russia-dossier-after-intel-n706416​

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Captain America said:

Just a hunch but......

Wouldn't surprise me none if the GOP signs off and just let's the investigation take it's own course.

Certainly, Trump Corp., will fight it tooth and nail. That's all natural. But I think he has just about burned all the bridges one man can burn and still remain King of the Hill. I have to wonder if there aren't hidden forces in his own camp working to get him kicked to the curb.

I think they've had just about enough.

I dunno.... Just a hunch.

When the news broke about Tillerson calling Trump an moron I was reminded of the play about Julius Ceasar.

"Et tu Brute?" :lamo

I think the inner circle has gathered and are discussing plan B. Or, so says my crystal ball.

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Captain America said:

Just a hunch but......

Wouldn't surprise me none if the GOP signs off and just let's the investigation take it's own course.

Certainly, Trump Corp., will fight it tooth and nail. That's all natural. But I think he has just about burned all the bridges one man can burn and still remain King of the Hill. I have to wonder if there aren't hidden forces in his own camp working to get him kicked to the curb.

I think they've had just about enough.

I dunno.... Just a hunch.

When the news broke about Tillerson calling Trump an moron I was reminded of the play about Julius Ceasar.

"Et tu Brute?" :lamo

I think the inner circle has gathered and are discussing plan B. Or, so says my crystal ball.

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Chomsky said:

I think I agree. The GOP establishment would be far happier with Pence behind the desk.

The thing is: There's the criminal ramifications, and the political ramifications. And they are separate.

Regardless of the criminal investigation, The House will still have to impeach, and The Senate will still have to convict, those both being political processes. And if Trump continues to enjoy wide Republican voter support, that's tough politics to go against. I suspect Trump knows this, which is why he constantly plays to, and rallies, his base. Especially the way he rallies them to believe in "fake news". He knows politics trumps all (sic), even justice and the law.

But I think there may be a work around: If a state's attorneys office, say New York, jumps on the bandwagon they can essentially tell Trump:

"Vacate the White House, or you, your family, and your organization, goes down."

I think we're in for some interesting times.

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upsideguy said:

If Mueller's findings are sufficiently scathing, some of that base will erode and the Republicans will be forced to impeach to save themselves in 2018.

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Chomsky said:

I haven't seen much base erosion, or even much accepting of reality by them.

So why would they change?

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reinoe said:

So a British firm was hired to interfere with our elections? I sure hope Mueller is going to investigate this foreigner trying to interfere with our sacred and precious election process.

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upsideguy said:

If Mueller's findings are sufficiently scathing, some of that base will erode and the Republicans will be forced to impeach to save themselves in 2018.

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upsideguy said:

We don't have Mueller's report yet. The Trump constituency is still living in the world of denial where the Russian investigation is, what do they call it.... yes, a "nothing burger".

I do expect Muelller's findings will be scathing and thus change a few (not all) minds.

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iguanaman said:

Because secret meetings with Russian spies is sacred?

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Moot said:

Comey thought the dossier was credible enough to show it to Trump during his first national security briefing.

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Chomsky said:

I haven't seen much base erosion, or even much accepting of reality by them.

So why would they change?

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upsideguy said:

We don't have Mueller's report yet. The Trump constituency is still living in the world of denial where the Russian investigation is, what do they call it.... yes, a "nothing burger".

I do expect Muelller's findings will be scathing and thus change a few (not all) minds.

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