Trump Dossier: Fusion Gps And The Law

The Trump–Russia dossier, also known as the Steele dossier, is a 35-page series of uncorroborated memos written by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. It was commissioned by Fusion GPS, an American political research shop and strategic intelligence firm, and funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The dossier contains unverified allegations about President Trump's connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin. While the dossier has been described as salacious and unverified, it has also been cited as a source of information by the FBI and included in a Top Secret intelligence briefing for President Obama.

The role of Fusion GPS in producing the dossier has come under scrutiny, with some legal experts raising concerns about the firm's simultaneous financial ties to the DNC, Clinton campaign, and Russian individuals. There have also been questions about whether Fusion GPS should have registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). These concerns have led to appearances by Fusion GPS executives before the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In addition, Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime attorney, has sued Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed News, which published the dossier, for defamation, claiming that the dossier made false and defamatory claims that harmed his reputation and business interests.

Fusion GPS's simultaneous financial ties to the DNC, Clinton campaign, and Russian individuals

The simultaneous financial ties between Fusion GPS and the DNC, Clinton campaign, and Russian individuals have raised questions about the role of the firm and the Democrats in working with Russia during the 2016 election.

While working for the DNC and Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS also conducted work for Kremlin-linked individuals. The firm did work for Denis Katsyv, a Kremlin-linked oligarch, and his organization, which was facing sanctions due to alleged money laundering. Fusion GPS also allegedly worked with Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet counter-intelligence officer who opposed US sanctions.

The co-founder of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer, before and after her meeting with the Trump campaign in June 2016. Veselnitskaya reportedly gained access to information about Clinton donors and their alleged ties to Russian tax evasion, which she presented to Donald Trump Jr. at the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016.

The Clinton campaign and the DNC funded Fusion GPS's research into Donald Trump through the law firm Perkins Coie until October 2016, right before the election. The exact amount of money involved in the transaction is uncertain, but the Clinton campaign and the DNC paid Perkins Coie more than $9 million.

The Clinton campaign and the DNC's funding of Fusion GPS

The Clinton campaign and the DNC shared the cost of hiring Fusion GPS, but the exact dollar amounts paid to the firm have not been disclosed. The DNC was fined $105,000 and the Clinton campaign was fined $8,000 by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for misreporting the money that funded the dossier, categorising it as "legal services" and "legal and compliance consulting" instead of opposition research.

Initially, a conservative billionaire bankrolled the work of Fusion GPS, but once Trump dominated the Republican primaries, Simpson and Fritsch pitched their services to the Democrats, who took over the account.

Fusion GPS was hired to conduct opposition research on Trump, and they, in turn, hired Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, to investigate Trump's activities in Russia. Steele compiled the now-infamous dossier, which contained unverified and salacious allegations about Trump, including claims of collusion with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election.

The funding of Fusion GPS by the Clinton campaign and the DNC has raised serious legal concerns and sparked accusations of violating campaign finance laws. The Clinton campaign and the DNC never conceded that they violated campaign finance laws but agreed to accept the civil fines imposed by the FEC.

Fusion GPS's work for Kremlin-linked individuals and organisations

Fusion GPS is a research firm that was hired by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to produce opposition research on Donald Trump. The firm was co-founded in 2011 by former journalists Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch.

While working for the DNC and Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS was also conducting work on behalf of Kremlin-linked individuals and organizations.

One such individual was Denis Katsyv, a Kremlin-linked oligarch. Fusion GPS helped Katsyv's organization fight against sanctions placed on his company, Prevezon Holdings, as a result of alleged money laundering. Prevezon was accused of laundering more than $230 million in stolen funds. Fusion GPS investigated Bill Browder, a witness central to the case against Prevezon.

Fusion GPS also allegedly worked with Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet counter-intelligence officer who was opposed to U.S. sanctions.

In addition, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, met with Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya before and after she met with the Trump campaign in June 2016. Veselnitskaya was representing Prevezon Holdings and Denis Katsyv in a lawsuit.

The simultaneous financial ties between Fusion GPS, the DNC, the Clinton campaign, and Russian individuals have raised questions about the firm's role in the 2016 election and its potential influence on American politics.

Christopher Steele's sources and the accuracy of the dossier

Christopher Steele's sources for the dossier were anonymous, but he described them as "trusted compatriots", "knowledgeable sources", "former intelligence officers", "ministry of foreign affairs officials", and an "ethnic Russian" in Trump's immediate circle. Steele's primary sub-source was later revealed to be Igor Danchenko, who used a network of other sub-sources to gather information. Steele's sources were not new, but trusted, proven, and familiar sources. Steele had a large number of paid "collectors" (also called subsources) whose information came from a network of often unwitting sub-subsources. Steele testified that these sub-subsources "were not paid and were not aware that their information was being passed to Orbis or Fusion GPS".

Steele believed his sources were credible and that his dossier was 70-90% accurate. He had been dealing with Russia for 30 years and asked: "Why would I invent this stuff?" He also said that his dossier was not a "dossier" but "a series of reports on a live issue, the election campaign, running through time". Steele's co-founders at Fusion GPS, Simpson and Fritsch, also believed that Steele was a good bloke and not a scurrilous maker-up of falsehoods. Simpson and Fritsch were surprised by what came back from Steele's sources.

The United States intelligence community and most experts have treated the dossier with caution due to its unverified allegations. The FBI investigated every line of the dossier and identified and spoke with at least two of Steele's sources. The Mueller Report contained passing references to some of the dossier's allegations but little mention of its more sensational claims. The dossier's broad assertion that Russia waged a campaign to interfere in the 2016 election is now accepted as fact by the US intelligence community. Some of the dossier's broad threads have now been independently corroborated, and the general thrust of the dossier seems credible in light of what we now know about extensive contacts between numerous individuals associated with the Trump campaign and Russian government officials. However, the dossier's veracity is variable: some allegations have been publicly confirmed, others are plausible but not specifically confirmed, and some are dubious in retrospect but not strictly disproven.

The dossier was not the trigger for the Russia investigation. It was the activities of George Papadopoulos that started the investigation. The dossier was used as a roadmap for the FBI's investigation. The dossier played a central and essential role in the seeking of FISA warrants on Carter Page in terms of establishing FISA's low bar for probable cause.

Fusion GPS's registration status under the Foreign Agents Registration Act

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires the registration of, and disclosures by, an "agent of a foreign principal". This includes any individual or entity that acts within the United States at the order, request, direction, or control of a foreign principal. A foreign principal is defined as any foreign government, political party, or organisation, as well as any individual outside the United States (other than a US citizen domiciled in the US).

An "agent" must engage in one of the following activities within the United States "for or in the interests of" its "foreign principal":

• Engage in "political activities" that intend to influence US government officials or the American public.
• Provide certain public relations or politically related services, such as acting as a "public relations counsel", "publicity agent", "information-service employee", or "political consultant".
• Solicit, collect, disburse, or dispense money or other things of value.
• Represent interests before any agency or official of the US government.

Fusion GPS is a private intelligence firm that was hired by a conservative donor to conduct opposition research on then-candidate Donald Trump. Later, the Hillary Clinton campaign took over paying for the research work.

Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, to compile a dossier on Trump's Russia activities. Steele was alarmed by what he was told by Russian sources and felt obligated to report them to the FBI. Steele's findings were eventually passed to the media and the intelligence community.

There is no evidence to suggest that Fusion GPS registered under FARA. However, it is unclear whether the firm would be required to, as there are several exemptions to FARA's registration requirements. For example, persons engaged in "private and non-political activities" that further "bona fide trade or commerce" are exempt. Additionally, attorneys representing clients before a court of law or agency are also exempt from registration.

It is worth noting that Fusion GPS has faced legal scrutiny for its role in producing the Trump dossier, with some legal experts raising serious concerns.

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