The Washington Post has a bombshell report published Tuesday evening that the 2016 presidential campaign of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee paid for the Fusion GPS dossier alleging Russian ties with the presidential campaign of Republican Donald Trump and sordid phony personal smears of Trump.
The Post reported that Clinton campaign and DNC lawyer Marc Elias and his law firm Perkins Coie paid Fusion GPS to continue researching Trump after a Republican donor who originally funded the research pulled out in April 2016.
The dossier has been at the heart of accusations by the Clinton campaign that Trump stole the elcetion by colluding with the Russians.
The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said.
Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research.
Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community.
Elias and his law firm, Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016 on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Prior to that agreement, Fusion GPS’s research into Trump was funded by a still unknown Republican client during the GOP primary.
The Clinton campaign and the DNC through the law firm continued to fund Fusion GPS’s research through the end of October 2016, days before Election Day.
Fusion GPS gave Steele’s reports and other research documents to Elias, the people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear how or how much of that information was shared with the campaign and DNC, and who in those organizations was aware of the roles of Fusion GPS and Steele. One person close to the matter said the campaign and the DNC weren’t informed of Fusion GPS’s role by the law firm.
SNIP
Elias and Fusion GPS declined to comment on the arrangement. Spokespersons for the Clinton campaign and the DNC had no immediate comment.
People involved in the matter said they would not disclose the dollar-amounts paid to Fusion GPS, but said the campaign and the DNC shared the cost.”
End excerpt. Complete Washington Post article at this link.
Earlier on Tuesday, a liberal protester threw Russian flags at President Trump at the Capitol and yelled at Trump about Russia and treason.
WATCH: Pres. Trump arrives on Capitol Hill for lunch with Senate GOP, as his feud with Sen. Corker escalates https://t.co/i6O2iANctF pic.twitter.com/WN9d8HuWH3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 24, 2017
Protester ID’d self as Ryan Clayton from Americans Take Action got very close to Trump and threw these flags at him pic.twitter.com/hIk1v2qpHS
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) October 24, 2017
President Donald Trump’s entrance to senate lunch was interrupted by a protester who threw Russian flags and shouted “Trump is treason” pic.twitter.com/7BnxcxSLXH
— Tara Golshan (@taragolshan) October 24, 2017
Photo of the protester after the flag-throwing.
There is still no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to steal the election. President Trump has vehemently and consistently denied the charges which are now being investigated by a special prosecutor, former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
