![]() ![]() ![]() The FISA application, parts of which were declassified last year, cited the alleged meeting with Sechin, the discussion of sanctions, the alleged meeting with Divyekin, and the discussion of “kompromat.” The information was attributed to “Source #1,” a reference to Steele, and the application disclosed that Steele was hired as part of an effort to discredit Trump’s campaign. Steele also claimed that Page met with another Kremlin official, Igor Divyekin, who raised the prospect of political “kompromat” with Page, dirt they allegedly had on both Clinton and Trump. ![]() Part of the alleged quid-pro-quo would have included the planned sale of a 19% stake in Rosneft. Steele claimed that they discussed a potential deal for Trump to lift US sanctions in exchange for future energy cooperation between the two countries. The dossier said Page had a secret meeting with Igor Sechin, the president of Rosneft, a state-run oil company. He delivered a public address at a prominent Moscow university and met with Russian government officials. Page visited Russia in July 2016, while still advising the Trump campaign. All four FISA applications were granted by federal judges. Investigators went back to the court repeatedly, with new information, and demonstrated that they were collecting valuable information. Third, this discussion only revolves around the first of four FISAs against Page. They mentioned Page’s past ties to known Russian spies in New York, and other materials that are still redacted. Second, investigators used more than just the dossier to get the FISA warrant. In this case, senior Republicans are twisting the facts when they accuse the FBI of using “unverified” and “false information” from the dossier to “spy” on the Trump campaign.įirst, some of the information from Steele was included in the FISA application and has been partially corroborated, according to the Mueller report and Congressional testimony. Trump has relied on brazen lies and falsehoods while responding to the Russia investigation. That FISA warrant was granted in October 2016 by a federal judge.Īll of this happened after Page left the Trump campaign amid scrutiny of his Russian ties. The FBI used some of that information as evidence to support an application to the FISA court, seeking to monitor Page. There were also claims in the dossier about Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and his Russian ties. Also, the special counsel investigation was triggered by Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, not the dossier. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign indirectly paid for the dossier through a US law firm, which then hired an American opposition research company, which in turn hired Steele. (The Mueller report does not support the main claim in the dossier, that the Trump campaign engaged in a widespread conspiracy of collusion with the Russians.)Īdditionally, much of what McCarthy said about the dossier is wrong. Some of his claims have been debunked, others have held up over time some remain unproven, and other parts are partially true. ![]() The dossier is a series of memos by retired British spy Christopher Steele. “When they could not find something, they made false accusations, salacious accusations at that, drove this country into a special counsel lasting more than 22 months, using this false information, sending it to the FBI and went to get a FISA court then to spy upon Americans.” “I watched in the last campaign, the Democratic presidential campaign send $6 million to a foreign entity to travel the world and find something,” McCarthy said. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the lower chamber, said he opposed any foreign interference in US elections but blasted the Democrats in the same breath. “As if that was not bad enough, the foreign national compiled an unverified dossier that was then used by the FBI to obtain a warrant against an American citizen and surveil an American presidential campaign.” “We had a major American political party hire a foreign national, Christopher Steele, to dig up dirt on an American presidential candidate,” he said. But he also turned his fire to the Democrats, whom he accused of doing the same thing. Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Trump’s campaign should have called the FBI when they were offered dirt from the Russians in 2016. Here’s a breakdown of their claims, the truth about the dossier, and everything in between. On the defensive after President Donald Trump said he would accept assistance from foreign governments in the 2020 election, senior Republicans in Congress pivoted on Thursday and accused Democrats of soliciting foreign help in 2016 because of the infamous Steele dossier. ![]()
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