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In the interest of doing something different, here's a thread about Spygate.
"But you said something different-"
Shh, shh, shh.
"But you said something different-"
Shh, shh, shh.
On November 15, 2017, Luke Harding published the article "How Trump walked into Putin's web" in The Guardian.
theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/…
theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/…
Luke Harding is one of the "journalists" that met with Christopher Steele in December 2016.
Now in this particular article, Luke writes:
"In late 2015, the British eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, was carrying out standard 'collection' against Moscow targets. These were known Kremlin operatives already on the grid. Nothing unusual here..."
"In late 2015, the British eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, was carrying out standard 'collection' against Moscow targets. These were known Kremlin operatives already on the grid. Nothing unusual here..."
"... except that the Russians were talking to people associated with Trump. The precise nature of these exchanges has not been made public, but according to sources in the US and the UK, they formed a suspicious pattern. They continued through the first half of 2016."
"The intelligence was handed to the US as part of a routine sharing of information."
Now this is most likely familiar with people who have read Luke Harding's other work, "British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia".
Now this is most likely familiar with people who have read Luke Harding's other work, "British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia".
"The FBI and the CIA were slow to appreciate the extensive nature of these contacts between Trump's team and Moscow. This was in part due to institutional squeamishness - the law prohibits US agencies from examining the private communications of US citizens without a warrant."
"But the electronic intelligence suggested Steele was right. According to one account, the US agencies looked as if they were asleep. 'Wake up! There's something not right here!' - the BND, the Dutch, the French and SIS were all saying this,' one Washington-based source told me."
This relates to the countries that passed information over to the United States - the United Kingdom, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Australia, the Netherlands and France.
This is a complete list of all the intelligence heads of those organisations in those countries, such as the Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
"That summer, GCHQ's then head, Robert Hannigan, flew to the US to personally brief CIA chief John Brennan. The matter was deemed so important that it was handled at 'director level', face-to-face between the two agency chiefs."
John Brennan and Robert Hannigan are not counterparts.
Admiral Mike Rogers and Robert Hannigan are counterparts.
Admiral Mike Rogers and Robert Hannigan are counterparts.
"After a slow start, Brennan used the GCHQ information and other tip-offs to launch a major inter-agency investigation. Meanwhile, the FBI was receiving disturbing warnings from Steele."
The major inter-agency investigation was Brennan's task forces, or the Working Group, which consisted of handpicked people to serve two sides - domestic and foreign.
This constituted the FBI, DOJ and Treasury on the Domestic side, and the CIA, ODNI and NSA on the Foreign side.
This constituted the FBI, DOJ and Treasury on the Domestic side, and the CIA, ODNI and NSA on the Foreign side.
"Brennan convened a secret task force at CIA headquarters composed of several dozen analysts and officers from the CIA, the NSA and the FBI.
The unit functioned as a sealed compartment, its work hidden from the rest of the intelligence community."
washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/…
The unit functioned as a sealed compartment, its work hidden from the rest of the intelligence community."
washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/…
As I noted before though, Brennan used GCHQ information and other tip-offs to launch those task forces.
However, as a reminder:
In the first week of August 2016, Brennan provided an "eyes only" envelope, sent by a CIA courier, to the White House, where it was shown to President Obama, Denis McDonough, Susan Rice and Avril Haines.
In the first week of August 2016, Brennan provided an "eyes only" envelope, sent by a CIA courier, to the White House, where it was shown to President Obama, Denis McDonough, Susan Rice and Avril Haines.
The information in the "eyes only" envelope was a source so valuable that Brennan intentionally kept the information out of the Presidential Daily Brief.
This is because the Presidential Daily Brief, by 2013, was being seen by roughly 30+ people in the Obama Administration.
However, as also noted, it was also the CIA's Counterintelligence Mission Center which helped trigger Crossfire Hurricane, as it acted as a conduit to the FBI due to the CIA's contacts.
Brennan does not receive the dossier - the PHYSICAL dossier - until December 2016.
According to Brennan, it matched his own sources.
washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/…
According to Brennan, it matched his own sources.
washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/…
"I sent a message to the CIA at the beginning of November to ask them about these allegations," said Paul Wood.
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
"It was illegal for any official to talk to me about them, but I got a message back through an intermediary that said the allegations were regarded as credible. And more than that, there was more than a single source for them, not just this MI6 man."
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
Paul Wood was one of the "journalists" that Steele met with in October 2016.
"And Simpson, during a sandwich lunch with Paul Wood in the BBC's Washington radio station [in early November], reached into his briefcase and handed over to the British journalist a redacted version of Steele's initial report."
vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/h…
vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/h…
"I [Paul Wood] know this because the Washington political research company [Fusion GPS] that commissioned his report showed it to me during the final week of the election campaign."
bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…
bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…
So to flip back, Paul Wood saw what Glenn Simpson had shown him in early November 2016 and contacted the CIA, not the FBI.
Steele's dossier though.
"Steele got in touch with one of his chief sources in Russia - or, as he called him, the 'collector' - and instructed him to start seeking information on Trump. Steele guarded the collector's identity as a top secret."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
"Steele got in touch with one of his chief sources in Russia - or, as he called him, the 'collector' - and instructed him to start seeking information on Trump. Steele guarded the collector's identity as a top secret."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
"Early in June, two men met for lunch at an Italian restaurant in Terminal 5 of London's Heathrow Airport."
"Two weeks or so later, Steele flew to meet his chief collector in a European city."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
"Two weeks or so later, Steele flew to meet his chief collector in a European city."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
As a reminder, Simpson was also fully aware, during his and Steele's early June 2016 meeting that the DNC had been hacked, something that would not be made public until June 14, 2016.
You can view more in the CrowdStrike thread about the background of the June 14, 2016 article.
You can also find the other side of things through the Alfa Bank thread.
"Orbis had ongoing projects in Russia for clients involved in commercial litigation. He figured he could easily hand this new assignment to his contacts in Russia whom he paid to search out information and prepare reports."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
As noted in this article:
"Instead, [Steele] hired native Russian speakers to call informants inside Russia and made surreptitious contact with his own connections in the country as well."
"Instead, [Steele] hired native Russian speakers to call informants inside Russia and made surreptitious contact with his own connections in the country as well."
"And then I asked myself, why did these guys provide this information, what was their motivation? And I subsequently learned that [Steele] paid them. That the intermediaries paid the sources and the intermediaries got the money from Chris." - Mike Morell
Just to be clear: Steele was fully aware that he could, very easily, have been passed Russian disinformation.
He chose to compile the information anyway because it was "very difficult to check".
Sounds like the MSM.
He chose to compile the information anyway because it was "very difficult to check".
Sounds like the MSM.
It was also generally theorised that the original material for the reports collected by Steele were written by native Russian speakers.
Also note:
"And days before Steele began his inquiries, Trump's top advisers had met with a Russian delegation at Trump Tower seeking derogatory information from the Kremlin on Hillary Clinton."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
"And days before Steele began his inquiries, Trump's top advisers had met with a Russian delegation at Trump Tower seeking derogatory information from the Kremlin on Hillary Clinton."
afr.com/lifestyle/arts…
The Trump Tower meeting happened on June 9, 2016.
As the book "Russian Roulette" states, Steele's inquiries do not begin until a few days after June 9, 2016.
"And days before Steele began his inquiries..."
nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/…
As the book "Russian Roulette" states, Steele's inquiries do not begin until a few days after June 9, 2016.
"And days before Steele began his inquiries..."
nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/…
It was June 20, 2016 that Steele wrote his first memo.
So really he must have collected this information in, what, a week?
So really he must have collected this information in, what, a week?
We know that Sergei Millian was both Source D and E in the dossier and that Glenn Simpson informed ABC News of Millian's role behind the dossier.
Millian, however, was completely unaware that what he was saying was being noted, as the person he was speaking to was reporting to Steele.
This is irrelevant but I am pretty convinced that Rick Wilson was contacted by ABC News shortly after Glenn Simpson tipped off ABC News about Sergei Millian's role in the dossier.
Well, we obviously cannot forget about the relationship between Christopher Steele and Oleg Deripaska, can we? That was a thing that was happening during 2016 also.
Oh, Sergei Millian and Oleg Deripaska.
June 17, 2016.
During that week where Steele was collecting information, I guess.
Picture taken at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, hosted from June 16 - 18, 2016.
dailycaller.com/2017/03/17/pho…
facebook.com/photo.php?fbid…
June 17, 2016.
During that week where Steele was collecting information, I guess.
Picture taken at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, hosted from June 16 - 18, 2016.
dailycaller.com/2017/03/17/pho…
facebook.com/photo.php?fbid…
As a reminder, again, Steele gave money to his intermediaries, who then passed this money to the "sources".
So Steele was paying Russians for the dossier.
So Steele was paying Russians for the dossier.
As previously noted, Perkins Coie retained Fusion GPS on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee as well.
"We're also dealing with foreign countries that do have a problem, I must tell you. I got called from two very good allies saying 'please, can we talk?' So it's not as simple as all that. And we do have to respect their wishes. But it'll all come out." -- President Trump
"I met with the DOJ concerning the declassification of various UNREDACTED documents. They agreed to release them but stated that so doing may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe. Also, key Allies' called to ask not to release."
The end.
