Announcement

Collapse

Civics 101 Guidelines

Want to argue about politics? Healthcare reform? Taxes? Governments? You've come to the right place!

Try to keep it civil though. The rules still apply here.
See more
See less

FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

    FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

    Some in the news media have tried in recent days to rekindle their long-lost love affair with former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and his now infamous dossier.

    The main trigger was a lengthy interview in June with the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general, which some news outlets suggested meant U.S. officials have found Steele, the former Hillary Clinton-backed political muckraker, to be believable.

    “Investigators ultimately found Steele’s testimony credible and even surprising,” Politico crowed. The Washington Post went even further, suggesting Steele’s assistance to the inspector general might “undermine Trumpworld’s alt-narrative” that the Russia-collusion investigation was flawed.

    For sure, Steele may have valuable information to aid Justice’s internal affairs probe into misconduct during the 2016 Russia election probe. His dossier alleging a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow ultimately was disproven, but not before his intelligence was used to secure a surveillance warrant targeting the Trump campaign in the final days of the 2016 election.

    Investigators are trying to ascertain what the British intelligence operative told the FBI about his sources, his relation to the Democratic Party and Clinton campaign, his hatred for Donald Trump, his Election Day deadline to get his information public and his leaking to media outlets before agents used his dossier to justify a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on ex-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

    There is evidence Steele told the DOJ in July, and the State Department in October, about all of these flaws in his work, and that State officials even detected blatant inaccuracies in his intelligence. If so, all of that information should have been flagged by the FBI as potentially derogatory information weighing against Steele’s use as a source for the FISA warrant.

    But lest anyone be tempted to think Steele’s 2016 dossier is about to be mysteriously revived as credible, consider this: Over months of work, FBI agents painstakingly researched every claim Steele made about Trump’s possible collusion with Russia, and assembled their findings into a spreadsheet-like document.

    The over-under isn’t flattering to Steele.

    Multiple sources familiar with the FBI spreadsheet tell me the vast majority of Steele’s claims were deemed to be wrong, or could not be corroborated even with the most awesome tools available to the U.S. intelligence community. One source estimated the spreadsheet found upward of 90 percent of the dossier’s claims to be either wrong, nonverifiable or open-source intelligence found with a Google search.

    In other words, it was mostly useless.

    “The spreadsheet was a sea of blanks, meaning most claims couldn’t be corroborated, and those things that were found in classified intelligence suggested Steele’s intelligence was partly or totally inaccurate on several claims,” one source told me.

    The FBI declined comment when asked about the spreadsheet.

    The FBI’s final assessment was driven by many findings contained in classified footnotes at the bottom of the spreadsheet. But it was also informed by an agent’s interview, in early 2017, with a Russian that Steele claimed was one of his main providers of intelligence, according to my sources.

    The FBI came to suspect that the Russian misled Steele, either intentionally or through exaggeration, the sources said.

    The spreadsheet and a subsequent report by special prosecutor Robert Mueller show just how far off the seminal claims in the Steele dossier turned out to be.

    For example, U.S. intelligence found no evidence that Carter Page, during a trip to Moscow in July 2016, secretly met with two associates of Vladimir Putin — Rosneft oil executive Igor Sechin and senior government official Igor Divyekin — as part of the effort to collude with the Trump campaign, as Steele reported.

    Page did meet with a lower-level Rosneft official, and shook hands with a Russian deputy prime minister, the FBI found, but it was a far cry from the tale that Steele’s dossier spun.

    Likewise, Steele claimed that Sechin had offered Page a hefty finder’s fee if he could get Trump to help lift sanctions on Moscow: “a 19 percent (privatized) stake in Rosneft in return.”

    That offer, worth billions of dollars, was never substantiated and was deemed by some in U.S. intelligence to be preposterous.

    The inaccuracy of Steele’s intelligence on Page is at the heart of the inspector general investigation specifically because the FBI represented to the FISA court that the intelligence on Page was verified and strong enough to support the FISA warrant. It was, in the end, not verified.

    Another knockdown of the dossier occurred when U.S. intelligence determined former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was not in Prague in the summer of 2016 when Steele claimed he was meeting with Russians to coordinate a hijacking of the election, the sources said.....
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    While I tend to be suspicious of any "sources say" report, this tracks very closely with what we've known about the dossier from pretty much the beginning:

    Multiple sources familiar with the FBI spreadsheet tell me the vast majority of Steele’s claims were deemed to be wrong, or could not be corroborated even with the most awesome tools available to the U.S. intelligence community. One source estimated the spreadsheet found upward of 90 percent of the dossier’s claims to be either wrong, nonverifiable or open-source intelligence found with a Google search.

    In other words, it was mostly useless.
    Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
    But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
    Than a fool in the eyes of God


    From "Fools Gold" by Petra

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
      FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

      Some in the news media have tried in recent days to rekindle their long-lost love affair with former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and his now infamous dossier.

      The main trigger was a lengthy interview in June with the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general, which some news outlets suggested meant U.S. officials have found Steele, the former Hillary Clinton-backed political muckraker, to be believable.

      “Investigators ultimately found Steele’s testimony credible and even surprising,” Politico crowed. The Washington Post went even further, suggesting Steele’s assistance to the inspector general might “undermine Trumpworld’s alt-narrative” that the Russia-collusion investigation was flawed.

      For sure, Steele may have valuable information to aid Justice’s internal affairs probe into misconduct during the 2016 Russia election probe. His dossier alleging a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow ultimately was disproven, but not before his intelligence was used to secure a surveillance warrant targeting the Trump campaign in the final days of the 2016 election.

      Investigators are trying to ascertain what the British intelligence operative told the FBI about his sources, his relation to the Democratic Party and Clinton campaign, his hatred for Donald Trump, his Election Day deadline to get his information public and his leaking to media outlets before agents used his dossier to justify a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on ex-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

      There is evidence Steele told the DOJ in July, and the State Department in October, about all of these flaws in his work, and that State officials even detected blatant inaccuracies in his intelligence. If so, all of that information should have been flagged by the FBI as potentially derogatory information weighing against Steele’s use as a source for the FISA warrant.

      But lest anyone be tempted to think Steele’s 2016 dossier is about to be mysteriously revived as credible, consider this: Over months of work, FBI agents painstakingly researched every claim Steele made about Trump’s possible collusion with Russia, and assembled their findings into a spreadsheet-like document.

      The over-under isn’t flattering to Steele.

      Multiple sources familiar with the FBI spreadsheet tell me the vast majority of Steele’s claims were deemed to be wrong, or could not be corroborated even with the most awesome tools available to the U.S. intelligence community. One source estimated the spreadsheet found upward of 90 percent of the dossier’s claims to be either wrong, nonverifiable or open-source intelligence found with a Google search.

      In other words, it was mostly useless.

      “The spreadsheet was a sea of blanks, meaning most claims couldn’t be corroborated, and those things that were found in classified intelligence suggested Steele’s intelligence was partly or totally inaccurate on several claims,” one source told me.

      The FBI declined comment when asked about the spreadsheet.

      The FBI’s final assessment was driven by many findings contained in classified footnotes at the bottom of the spreadsheet. But it was also informed by an agent’s interview, in early 2017, with a Russian that Steele claimed was one of his main providers of intelligence, according to my sources.

      The FBI came to suspect that the Russian misled Steele, either intentionally or through exaggeration, the sources said.

      The spreadsheet and a subsequent report by special prosecutor Robert Mueller show just how far off the seminal claims in the Steele dossier turned out to be.

      For example, U.S. intelligence found no evidence that Carter Page, during a trip to Moscow in July 2016, secretly met with two associates of Vladimir Putin — Rosneft oil executive Igor Sechin and senior government official Igor Divyekin — as part of the effort to collude with the Trump campaign, as Steele reported.

      Page did meet with a lower-level Rosneft official, and shook hands with a Russian deputy prime minister, the FBI found, but it was a far cry from the tale that Steele’s dossier spun.

      Likewise, Steele claimed that Sechin had offered Page a hefty finder’s fee if he could get Trump to help lift sanctions on Moscow: “a 19 percent (privatized) stake in Rosneft in return.”

      That offer, worth billions of dollars, was never substantiated and was deemed by some in U.S. intelligence to be preposterous.

      The inaccuracy of Steele’s intelligence on Page is at the heart of the inspector general investigation specifically because the FBI represented to the FISA court that the intelligence on Page was verified and strong enough to support the FISA warrant. It was, in the end, not verified.

      Another knockdown of the dossier occurred when U.S. intelligence determined former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was not in Prague in the summer of 2016 when Steele claimed he was meeting with Russians to coordinate a hijacking of the election, the sources said.....
      Trump and republican pols want his supporters to think the investigation was all about, was brought about, by the Steele dossier. It isn,t, and it wasn't.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by JimL View Post
        Trump and republican pols want his supporters to think the investigation was all about, was brought about, by the Steele dossier. It isn,t, and it wasn't.
        I'm shocked, shocked I say, that you would attempt to minimize the impact of a discredited document used extensively to validate your views.
        Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

        Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
        sigpic
        I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by JimL View Post
          Trump and republican pols want his supporters to think the investigation was all about, was brought about, by the Steele dossier. It isn,t, and it wasn't.
          Because the Steele dossier is crap, right?
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
            Because the Steele dossier is crap, right?
            Not necessarily, but it is only a piece of evidence. Have you read the Mueller report? Is the Steele dossier an intregal part of it?

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by JimLamebrain View Post
              Not necessarily, but it is only a piece of evidence. Have you read the Mueller report? Is the Steele dossier an intregal part of it?
              The phony Steele "dossier" is at the very foundation of the Mueller investigation. It was used to secure FISA warrants under false pretenses and to start the entire charade. If the Steele "dossier" is shown to be wholly unreliable (which is pretty much a given at this point), then the entire "Russia! Russia! Russia!" narrative collapses.
              Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
              But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
              Than a fool in the eyes of God


              From "Fools Gold" by Petra

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
                The phony Steele "dossier" is at the very foundation of the Mueller investigation. It was used to secure FISA warrants under false pretenses and to start the entire charade. If the Steele "dossier" is shown to be wholly unreliable (which is pretty much a given at this point), then the entire "Russia! Russia! Russia!" narrative collapses.
                Complete nonsense.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by JimLamebrain View Post
                  Complete nonsense.
                  Perfect description of the dossier.
                  Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                  But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                  Than a fool in the eyes of God


                  From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Obviously the fact that they are discrediting the Steele Dossier is proof that it is true.

                    Why else would they try so hard to discredit it?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                      Obviously the fact that they are discrediting the Steele Dossier is proof that it is true.

                      Why else would they try so hard to discredit it?
                      No one is trying to discredit the Steele dossier except for you Trumpsters. The Steele dossier is information dug up by a private investigater, some of which may be true or false, but was not instramental in the opening of the investigation into the Russian/Trump conspiracy connection.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by JimL View Post
                        No one is trying to discredit the Steele dossier except for you Trumpsters.
                        The FBI spreadsheet was put together by Trumpsters?
                        The Steele dossier is information dug up by a private investigater, some of which may be true or false, but was not instramental in the opening of the investigation into the Russian/Trump conspiracy connection.
                        Given that it was heavily used to get the FISA warrants necessary to start the investigation, uh, yeah it was. You're a hoot, Jim.
                        Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                        Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
                        sigpic
                        I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by JimL View Post
                          No one is trying to discredit the Steele dossier except for you Trumpsters. The Steele dossier is information dug up by a private investigater,...
                          ...you mean investigator, and you left out the "paid for by Hillary" part.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Solomon is a Trump loving right-wing hack. Don’t believe a word of it.
                            “I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.” ― Oscar Wilde
                            “And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence” ― Bertrand Russell
                            “not all there” - you know who you are

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              What would Rachael do?
                              Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                              But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                              Than a fool in the eyes of God


                              From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                              Comment

                              Related Threads

                              Collapse

                              Topics Statistics Last Post
                              Started by little_monkey, Yesterday, 04:19 PM
                              7 responses
                              65 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post Sparko
                              by Sparko
                               
                              Started by whag, 03-26-2024, 04:38 PM
                              42 responses
                              249 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post whag
                              by whag
                               
                              Started by rogue06, 03-26-2024, 11:45 AM
                              25 responses
                              108 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post rogue06
                              by rogue06
                               
                              Started by Hypatia_Alexandria, 03-26-2024, 09:21 AM
                              33 responses
                              194 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post Roy
                              by Roy
                               
                              Started by Hypatia_Alexandria, 03-26-2024, 08:34 AM
                              73 responses
                              337 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post Hypatia_Alexandria  
                              Working...
                              X