Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:41, 14 January 2017

On 11 January 2017, media reported that MI6 operative Christopher Steele, called by the media a "highly regarded Kremlin expert", "one of MI6's greatest 'Russia specialists" and a "real-life James Bond", had authored a controversial dossier on United States President-elect Donald Trump, concerning Trump's alleged ties to Russia.

Dossier

On October 31, 2016, a week before the election, Mother Jones reported that a former intelligence officer, whom they did not name, had produced a report based on Russian sources and turned it over to the FBI. The report alleged that the Russian government had cultivated Trump for years:

The "Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting TRUMP for at least 5 years. Aim, endorsed by PUTIN, has been to encourage splits and divisions in western alliance." It maintained that Trump "and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his Democratic and other political rivals." It claimed that Russian intelligence had "compromised" Trump during his visits to Moscow and could "blackmail him."

Senator John McCain obtained the documents in December 2016 and turned them over to the FBI. He provided the document directly to FBI director Comey after a meeting with Sir Andrew Wood who stated that Steele was a professional with integrity. The contact with McCain was made after Steele became frustrated after handing the document over to the FBI but the FBI seemed to put resources towards investigating Hillary Clinton.

Trump and Barack Obama were briefed on its existence by the chiefs of several U.S. intelligence agencies in early January. Joe Biden has confirmed that he and the president had received briefings on the dossier, and the allegations within.

The report further claimed that there were multiple in-person meetings between Russian government officials and individuals established as working for Trump. The former intelligence officer continued to share information with the FBI, and said in October 2016 that "there was or is a pretty substantial inquiry going on." In January 2017, the officer's identity was revealed.

Author

Christopher David Steele has been named as the source of the material. Steele formerly worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 and is currently working for the London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd. company. Before his spying career, Steele had previously been president of the Cambridge Union in 1985. According to reports, the firm's investigation was initially funded by Never Trump Republicans and later by the Democrats.

Public release

On January 10, 2017, CNN reported that classified documents presented to Obama and Trump the previous week included allegations that Russian operatives possess "compromising personal and financial information" about Trump. CNN stated that it would not publish specific details on the memos because they had not yet "independently corroborated the specific allegations." Following the report, BuzzFeed published a 35-page dossier that it said was the basis of the briefing, including unverified claims that operatives had collected "embarrassing material" involving Trump that could be used to blackmail him. A senior U.S. intelligence official disputed CNN's claim that Trump had been previously briefed on the contents of the memos. Contrary to the official's claim, Clapper released a statement which suggested "that CNN's original report was correct."

The existence of the dossier was first reported by CNN on the afternoon of 11 January. Although its existence had been "common knowledge" among journalists for around half a year at that point, the Telegraph asserted that Steele's anonymity had been "fatally compromised" after CNN published his nationality. The Independent reported that Steele had fled his home in England several hours before the release of the report and "went to ground" after "realizing it was only a matter of time until his name became public knowledge," and "now fears a prompt and potentially dangerous backlash against him from Moscow." Steele worked for Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd. at the time the dossier was authored, and Orbis director Christopher Burrows would not "confirm or deny" that Orbis had produced the dossier.

Responses

During a press conference on January 11, 2017, Trump denounced the unsubstantiated claims as false, saying that it was "disgraceful" for U.S. intelligence agencies to report them. He refused to answer a question from CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta, arguing that the network was disseminating fake news. CNN defended how it had reported the story, arguing that it had published "carefully sourced reporting" on the matter which had been "matched by the other major news organizations," as opposed to BuzzFeed's posting of "unsubstantiated materials." James Clapper described the leaks as damaging to US national security but his statement also confirmed the original report by CNN. This also contradicted Trump's previous claim that Clapper said the information was false; Clapper's statement actually said the intelligence community has made no judgement on the truth or falsity of the information.

Glenn Greenwald, an outspoken critic of U.S. intelligence agencies, criticized the dossier and the circumstances of its publication as "classic Cold War dirty tactics".

The scandal has been referred to in the media as "Golden Shower Gate" and "Pissgate".

See also

• 2016 United States election interference by Russia

References

1. Hope, Bradley; Rothfeld, Michael; Cullison, Alan (11 January 2017). "Christopher Steele, Ex-British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have Prepared Dossier on Trump". Wall Street Journal.
2. "The ex-spy who wrote the Trump dossier is nicknamed James Bond". NBC News. 13 January 2017.
3. "Donald Trump dossier: Russians point finger at MI6 over leaked intelligence report". The Telegraph. 12 January 2017.
4. "Ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele in hiding after Trump dossier". BBC News. 12 January 2017.
5. John, Tara (13 January 2017). "What to Know About Christopher Steele, Alleged Author of the Trump Dossier". Time.
6. Haynes, Deborah (11 January 2017). "Spy behind report knew Litvinenko". The Times.
7. ^ Corn, David (October 31, 2016), A Veteran Spy Has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump, Mother Jones, retrieved January 12, 2017 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
8. ^ Borger, Julian (January 11, 2017), John McCain passes dossier alleging secret Trump-Russia contacts to FBI, The Guardian, retrieved January 12, 2017 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
9. Sengupta, Kim (13 January 2017). "Ex-MI6 agent so worried by his Donald Trump discoveries he started working without pay". The Independent.
10. Sengupta, Kim (13 January 2017). "Ex-MI6 agent so worried by his Donald Trump discoveries he started working without pay". The Independent.
11. "John McCain intrigue grows in Donald Trump dossier affair".
12. Borger, Julian (12 January 2017). "How the Trump dossier came to light: secret sources, a retired spy and John McCain" – via The Guardian.
13. "FBI head Comey told Trump about Russia dossier after intel briefing".
14. Staff, AOL. "Biden: Obama and I were told about Trump dossier ahead of leaks".
15. "What You Need To Know About The Secret Trump Dossier". BuzzFeed.
16. "'It Is Fake News Meant to Malign Mr. Trump'". The Atlantic. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
17. "What We Know and Don't Know About the Trump-Russia Dossier". The New York Times. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
18. ^ Gordon, Raynor. "Former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, who produced Donald Trump Russian dossier, 'terrified for his safety' and went to ground before name released". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
19. Hope, Bradley. "Christopher Steele, Ex-British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have Prepared Dossier on Trump". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
20. Behar, Richard. "Could This Be The British Ex-MI6 Agent Behind The Trump FBI Memos?". Forbes. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
21. Hughes, Chris. "First picture of British spy behind Donald Trump 'dirty dossier' revealed". Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
22. "Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him". CNN.com. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
23. ^ "BuzzFeed's ridiculous rationale for publishing the Trump-Russia dossier". Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
24. ^ Sutton, Kelsey. "Trump calls CNN 'fake news,' as channel defends its reporting on intelligence briefing". Politico. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
25. Jeff Stein (January 10, 2017). "Trump, Russian Spies, and the Infamous "Golden Showers" Memos". Newsweek.
26. "U.S. Spies Warn Trump and GOP: Russia Could Get You Next". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
27. "Trump Received Unsubstantiated Report That Russia Had Damaging Information About Him". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
28. "Trump was not briefed on document with explosive Russia allegations, official says". CNBC.com. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
29. ^ Hartmann, Margaret. "Clapper Denounces 'Corrosive and Damaging' Trump Dossier Leak". Daily Intelligencer. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
30. ^ Nichols, Hans (1970-01-01). "Former British Spy Christopher Steele Prepared Explosive Trump Memo". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
31. ^ "Former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, who produced Donald Trump Russian dossier, 'terrified for his safety' and went to ground before name released". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
32. Marcotte, Amanda (13 January 2017). "What do we know about Donald Trump's outrageous "dossier"? Almost nothing — except that it exposes his most serious weaknesses". Salon.
33. Confessore, Scott Shane, Nicholas; Rosenberg, Matthew (11 January 2017). "How a Sensational, Unverified Dossier Became a Crisis for Donald Trump". The New York Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
34. Rascoe, Ayesha (January 11, 2017). "Trump assails 'phony' Russia dossier in chaotic news conference". Reuters. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
35. Weisman, Jonathan; Steinhauer, Jennifer (12 January 2017). "Intelligence Chief's Olive Branch to Trump Gets Twisted in Translation". The New York Times.
36. The Deep State Goes to War With President-Elect, Using Unverified Claims, as Democrats Cheer (The Intercept, 11 January 2017)
37. Price, Greg (13 January 2017). "Golden Shower Gate Dossier Timeline: Everything We Know About Donald Trump's Alleged Russian Blackmail Scandal". International Business Times.
38. "Piss-Gate: Trump Denies Hiring Prostitutes to Perform Lewd 'Golden Showers' Sex Act on him on Bed Obama & Michelle Slept On". Malaysia Chronicle. 12 January 2017.

• 2017 in American politics
• Donald Trump controversies
• Espionage scandals and incidents
• Foreign influence in national elections
• Russia–United States relations
• United States presidential election, 2016