Steel Dossier

Type

Political opposition research report, compilation of 'unverified, and potentially unverifiable' memos, raw intelligence

Author

Christopher Steele

Client

Hillary Clinton's campaign, Democratic National Committee (DNC)

Content

Allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia

Compiler

Fusion GPS

Reliability

Unreliable, questionable, bogus, compiled from hearsay and third-hand gossip, denied by sources, not established facts but a starting point for further investigation

Total Pages

35 pages

Also Known As

Trump–Russia dossier

Number of Reports

17 memos

Primary Sub-Source

Igor Danchenko

2016-06

2016-12

2017-01

2017-01

2017-01-11

2017

2020

2022-10

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump compiled by counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele. It was published without permission in 2017 as an unfinished 35-page compilation of "unverified, and potentially unverifiable" memos that were considered by Steele to be "raw intelligence – not established facts, but a starting point for further investigation". The [...] dossier was written from June to December 2016 and contains allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia prior to and during the 2016 election campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies have reported that Putin personally ordered the whole Russian election interference operation, that the Russians codenamed Project Lakhta. [...] The dossier was based on reports from initially anonymous sources known to Steele and his "primary sub-source", Igor Danchenko. Steele, a former head of the Russia Desk for British intelligence (MI6), wrote the report for the private investigative firm Fusion GPS, that was paid by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The dossier's 17 reports allege that there was a "well-developed conspiracy" of "cooperation" between Trump campaign members and Russian

The dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele remains a subject of fascination—or, depending on your perspective, scorn. Indeed, it was much discussed during former FBI Director Jim Comey’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 7. Published almost two years ago by BuzzFeed News in January 2017, the document received significant public attention, first for its lurid details regarding Donald Trump’s pre-presidential alleged sexual escapades [...] The dossier is actually a series of reports—16 in all—that total 35 pages. Written in 2016, the dossier is a collection of raw intelligence. Steele neither evaluated nor synthesized the intelligence. He neither made nor rendered bottom-line judgments. The dossier is, quite simply and by design, raw reporting, not a finished intelligence product. [...] Our interest in revisiting the compilation that has come to be called the “Steele Dossier” concerns neither of those topics, at least not directly. Rather, we returned to the document because we wondered whether information made public as a result of the Mueller investigation—and the passage of two years—has tended to buttress or diminish the crux of Steele’s original reporting. Support _Lawfare_

Over the course of the next six months, Steele would file 17 memos to Fusion GPS and its client, a law firm representing the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The salacious claims in the so-called "Steele dossier" -- involving sex, spies, and scandal -- are well known by now. But details of how Steele gathered the intelligence, and the personal toll of its fallout, have remained shrouded. [...] American news outlets were reporting that the intelligence chiefs had briefed President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump on Russia's election meddling -- and included some of the details from Steele's dossier. Steele's name hadn't yet been reported, but he assumed it was only a matter of time. Later that day, BuzzFeed News published Steele's dossier in its entirety. On January 11, The Wall Street Journal named Steele as the dossier's author. [...] "It's not at all usual for me to be in the public eye, but we've been there for five years," Steele said. "Because the vitriol and the things that people have said about us and our motivations and our work are so far-fetched and untrue, I thought it was important to come and set the record straight." Out of the Shadows: The Man Behind the Steele Dossier" is available Monday, October 18, on Hulu. ### The 'dossier' takes shape

The Steele dossier, published by news website Buzzfeed 10 days before Mr Trump took office, made a number of explosive claims linking Mr Trump to the Kremlin - including that Russia had compromising material on the Republican candidate. Mr Danchenko had reportedly worked with ex-British spy Christopher Steele on the dossier. He went on to become a paid informant for the FBI between 2017-20. He appeared emotional as the verdict was read, and did not comment after the hearing. [...] Mr Steele, a former British spy, was hired to compile the dossier by Washington DC-based research firm Fusion GPS, which was itself retained by a law firm on behalf of Mr Trump's political opponents, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate in the 2016 election, and the Democratic National Committee. According to the federal indictment, a US-based public relations executive "who was a long-time participant in Democratic Party politics" was "a contributor of information" to the dossier. [...] # Trump-Russia Steele dossier source acquitted of lying to FBI Getty Images Danchenko entering court A Russian analyst who worked on a discredited dossier linking Donald Trump to Russia has been found not guilty of lying to the FBI. The Department of Justice charged Igor Danchenko, 43, as part of a probe into the FBI's inquiry into whether Mr Trump colluded with Russia to win in 2016. The so-called Steele dossier was used by the FBI to obtain surveillance warrants on a top Trump aide.