Thread by @The_War_Economy

"Trump Russia dossier key claim 'verified'"

BBC News, Paul Wood, March 30, 2017

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…

"At one point he wrote, 'A leading Russian diplomat, Mikhail KULAGIN, had been withdrawn from Washington at short notice because Moscow feared his heavy involvement in the US presidential election operation... would be exposed in the media there."

"There was no diplomat called Kulagin in the Russian embassy; there was a Kalugin."

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…

"But sources I know and trust have told me the US government identified Kalugin as a spy while he was still at the embassy.

It is not clear if the American intelligence agencies already believed this when they got Steele's report on the 'diplomat', as early as May 2016."

"I understand - from former officials - that from 2013-16, Steele gave the US government extensive information on Russia and Ukraine.

This was work done for private clients, but which Steele wanted the US authorities to see."

"Then in early October, [Steele] came to the US and was extensively debriefed by them, over a week.

He gave the FBI the names of some of his informants, the so-called 'key' to the dossier.

But the CIA never interviewed him, and never sought to."

"One said: 'The FBI doesn't know about Russia, the CIA knows about Russia.

Any sources Steele has in Russia, the FBI doesn't know how to evaluate.

The Agency does. Who's running this thing from Moscow? The FBI aren't capable on that side, of even understanding what Chris has."

"I understand that Steele himself did not ask to brief the CIA because he had a long-standing relationship with the FBI.

The Russia people at the CIA had moved on and he felt he did not have the personal contacts he would need."

"Several sources have told me that late last year Steele grew increasingly disillusion with the FBI's progress.

'He really thought that what he had would sway the election,' said one.

So in October, pages from his reports were seen by a few journalists, including me."