Steele Dossier: Legal Or Illegal?

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump-Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. It was compiled by counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele and published without permission in 2017 as an unfinished 35-page compilation of unverified, and potentially unverifiable memos. The dossier contained allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government.

The dossier was funded by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It was based on information from anonymous sources, including Steele's primary sub-source, Igor Danchenko.

The dossier's release sparked intense debate and scrutiny, with some arguing that it was fake news or a hoax, while others maintained that it warranted further investigation. The United States intelligence community and most experts treated the dossier with caution due to its unverified allegations.

While some of the dossier's allegations have been corroborated or confirmed, others remain unverified or unsubstantiated. The dossier played a role in triggering investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. However, it is important to note that the dossier itself did not trigger these investigations, and the extent of its influence on the investigative processes has been debated.

The legal status of the dossier has also been questioned, particularly in relation to campaign finance laws. While there were accusations of violations, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) dismissed most of the charges and fined the Clinton campaign and DNC for misreporting the purpose of certain disbursements.

Overall, the Steele dossier remains a controversial and divisive topic, with ongoing debates about its accuracy, legality, and impact on US politics and investigations.

The Steele dossier was used by the FBI to obtain surveillance warrants on a top Trump aide

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, was a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. It was compiled by counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele, who was hired by the private investigative firm Fusion GPS, which was paid by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The dossier was used by the FBI to obtain surveillance warrants on Carter Page, a top Trump aide. It was published by BuzzFeed News on January 10, 2017, without Steele's permission.

The dossier contained allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia prior to and during the 2016 election campaign. It also alleged that Russia sought to damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The FBI investigated every line of the dossier and identified and spoke with at least two of Steele's sources. However, the dossier's allegations were unverified, and the United States intelligence community and most experts treated it with caution.

The dossier was compiled by retired British spy Christopher Steele

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. It was compiled by retired British spy and counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele. Steele is a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6).

Steele wrote the dossier from June to December 2016 for the private investigative firm Fusion GPS. It was paid for by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The dossier contains allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government prior to and during the 2016 election campaign.

Steele's findings alarmed him so much that he decided to pass the information to British and American intelligence services because he believed the findings were a matter of national security for both countries. Steele believed the intelligence community "needed urgently to know—if it didn't already—that the next possible U.S. president was potentially under the sway of Russia".

The dossier was published without Steele's permission in 2017 as an unfinished 35-page compilation of "unverified, and potentially unverifiable" memos. Steele considered the dossier to be "raw intelligence — not established facts, but a starting point for further investigation".

The United States intelligence community and most experts have treated the dossier with caution due to its unverified allegations. While compiling the dossier, Steele passed his findings to both British and American intelligence services. The FBI investigated every line of the dossier and identified and spoke with at least two of Steele's sources.

The dossier's author, Steele, has said he believes that 70–90% of the dossier is accurate, although he gives the "golden showers" allegation a 50% chance of being true.

The dossier was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, was a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. It was compiled by counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele and paid for by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The dossier was written from June to December 2016 and contained allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia.

The dossier was based on information from initially anonymous sources known to Steele, and his "primary sub-source", Igor Danchenko. Steele, a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6), was writing the report for the private investigative firm Fusion GPS. The dossier's 17 reports allege that Trump campaign members and Russian operatives had conspired to cooperate in Russia's election interference to benefit Trump. It also alleges that Russia sought to damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The money trail behind the Steele dossier has been a subject of intense political scrutiny for years. More than $1 million flowed from the Clinton campaign and DNC to the law firm Perkins Coie, which then hired Fusion GPS. That company later hired Steele and asked him to use his overseas contacts to dig up dirt about Trump's ties to Russia.

The dossier was published by BuzzFeed News on January 10, 2017, without Steele's permission. Their decision to publish the reports without verifying the allegations was criticized by journalists. However, a judge defended BuzzFeed's action on the basis that the dossier was part of an official proceeding and therefore "protected by fair reporting privilege".

The Clinton campaign and the DNC never conceded that they violated campaign finance laws, but they agreed to drop their pushback and accept the civil fines. The DNC was fined $105,000 and the Clinton campaign was fined $8,000.

The dossier was based on information from anonymous sources known to Christopher Steele

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. It was written by Christopher Steele, a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6), and compiled for Fusion GPS, a private investigative firm. The dossier was based on information from initially anonymous sources known to Steele, and his "primary sub-source", Igor Danchenko. Steele's sources were not new, but trusted, proven, and familiar sources. Steele's network of sources "is tried and tested" and has "been proven up in many other matters".

The dossier was funded by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It was published without Steele's permission by BuzzFeed News on January 10, 2017, as an unfinished 35-page compilation of "unverified, and potentially unverifiable" memos. The dossier's 17 reports allege that Trump campaign members and Russian operatives had conspired to cooperate in Russia's election interference to benefit Trump. It also alleges that Russia sought to damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The dossier's allegations have been treated with caution by the United States intelligence community and most experts due to their unverified nature. However, the FBI took the allegations seriously and investigated every line of the dossier, identifying and speaking 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.

While the dossier played a central and essential role in the seeking of FISA warrants on Carter Page, it did not play any role in the January 6, 2017, intelligence community assessment of the Russian actions in the 2016 election, and it was not the trigger for the opening of the Russia investigation into whether the Trump campaign was coordinating with the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The dossier was published without Steele's permission

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, was published without Steele's permission in 2017. The dossier was written from June to December 2016 and contains allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia. It was based on information from initially anonymous sources known to the author, counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele, and his "primary sub-source", Igor Danchenko. Steele, a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6), was writing the report for the private investigative firm Fusion GPS, that was paid by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The dossier was published by BuzzFeed News on January 10, 2017, without Steele's permission. Their decision to publish the reports without verifying the allegations was criticized by journalists. However, a judge defended BuzzFeed's action on the basis that the dossier was part of an official proceeding, and therefore "protected by fair reporting privilege".

The dossier was compiled by retired British spy Christopher Steele. It contained unverified and salacious allegations about Donald Trump, including claims that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election. Trump’s campaign had numerous contacts with Russian agents, and embraced Russian help, but no one was ever formally accused of conspiring with Russia.

The money trail behind the Steele dossier has been a subject of intense political scrutiny for years. More than $1 million flowed from the Clinton campaign and DNC to the law firm Perkins Coie, which then hired the opposition research company Fusion GPS. That company later hired Steele and asked him to use his overseas contacts to dig up dirt about Trump’s ties to Russia.

Steele has maintained that his research was unverified, required further investigation and was not meant for public disclosure. But his memos were leaked in January 2017, weeks before Trump took office. Over the years, a series of investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of Steele’s central allegations about collusion and exposed the unreliability of Steele’s sourcing.

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