FBI picked most outlandish anti-Trump dossier claims for official U.S.-Russia report

[IceWizard]

FBI picked most outlandish 
anti-Trump dossier claims for 
official U.S.-Russia report


James B. Comey, as FBI director, lobbied for the inclusion of Christopher Steele’s error-filled dossier to be 
included in the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. 
(Associated Press file photograph) more >


By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times - Sunday, June 14, 2020


A newly declassified intelligence document underscores the FBI’s 
absolute commitment to the discredited Christopher Steele dossier 
even to the point of providing the CIA its most damaging allegations 
against then-President-elect Trump.

The document is Annex A to the 2016 Intelligence Community 
Assessment (ICA) on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential 
election.

The FBI had obtained Mr. Steele’s dossier in September. Its top 
officials, including Director James B. Comey and Deputy Director 
Andrew McCabe, began to press the CIA and other agencies to 
include the paper in the ICA. As a compromise, CIA officials 
agreed to accept a synopsis — Annex A.

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Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified the 
document last week. The dossier was funded by the Democratic 
Party and the Clinton campaign. Government investigations 
have discredited its dozen or so anti-Trump claims.

However, in the fall 2016 the FBI was able to get the unfounded 
allegations inside the ICA, a historic intelligence report meant to 
meet the test of time in retelling Russian election meddling.

The FBI had the ICA report repeat allegations that Mr. Trump, 
as a hotel and golf course developer, maintained a secret relationship 
with the Kremlin.

Annex A says: “The most politically sensitive claims by the FBI 
source [Mr. Steele] alleged a close relationship between the 
President-elect and the Kremlin. The Source claimed the 
president-elect and his top campaign advisers knowingly worked 
with Russian officials to bolster his chances of beating Secretary 
[Hillary] Clinton, were fully knowledgeable of Russia direction 
of leaked Democratic emails and were offered financial 
compensation from Moscow.”

Annex A also says: “The FBI source claimed that secret meetings 
between the Kremlin and the president-elect team were handled 
by some of president-elect advisers, at least one of whom was 
allegedly offered remuneration for a policy change lifting 
sanctions on Russia.”

All of these claims were thoroughly disproven by special counsel 
Robert Mueller in his report. He found no election conspiracy. 
In fact, Mr. Trump appeared to have no history of Kremlin contacts.

Annex A described Mr. Steele as “an executive of a private business 
intelligence firm.” That would be Orbis Business Intelligence in London. 
Annex A said Mr. Steele assembled the dossier “on behalf of 
private clients.” It does not divulge their identities — the Democratic 
Party and the Clinton campaign — even though Mr. Steele later 
told investigations he told the FBI he was working for their law firm.

The FBI leadership’s persistence in persuading intelligence officials 
to fold-in dossier claims is one of several times the bureau showed 
complete loyalty to Mr. Steele.

χ At the time same officials were writing the ICA, the FBI used the 
dossier as the main piece of evidence to obtain the first of four 
wiretaps on Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page under the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Mr. Page was cleared 
by Mr. Mueller.

χ FBI headquarters repeatedly took in more dossier information 
during the fall from a Steele intermediary.

χ Mr. Comey took dossier material to the White House to brief 
President Obama’s inner circle.

χ Mr. Comey also brought the material to New York on Jan. 6 
to brief the salacious parts about Moscow prostitutes directly 
to President-elect Trump. Afterwards, Mr. Comey traveled to the 
New York field office to fill in by tele-video conference 
the FBI team investigating the Trump campaign.

χ A gaggle of FBI agents met with Mr. Steele in October 2016 
in Rome and offered him $50,000 to continue investigating 
Mr. Trump. The deal fell through when Mr. Steele broke protocol 
and sourced a story in Mother Jones magazine right before the election.

The FBI’s dossier back-and-forth with the intelligence community 
was documented in an April report by the Senate Select Committee 
on Intelligence.

“FBI officials told the Committee that they ‘would have had a major 
problem’ if Annex A had not been included, and that FBI believed 
they ‘had to put everything in,’” the Senate report said.

A bureau assistant director urged its inclusion even though agents 
did not “stand behind” the material.

“A summary of this material was included in Annex A as a compromise 
to the FBI’s insistence that the information was responsive to the 
presidential tasking,” the report states.