2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In congressional testimony released Tuesday, a founder of a research firm behind a controversial dossier about Donald Trump provided a detailed account of how the investigation began and how that information ended up in the hands of federal law-enforcement agencies during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The 35-page dossier, which contained salacious and unverified material about Mr. Trump and Russia, circulated widely in law enforcement, intelligence and media circles in late 2016 and early 2017. The dossier has taken center stage in the investigation into Russian activity during the election and whether anyone from the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.
In the August 2017 testimony, Glenn Simpson defended the work of his firm Fusion GPS and the former British intelligence official he hired to gather information. That intelligence official, Christopher Steele, ended up writing a series of memos on Mr. Trump’s purported ties to Russia that make up the dossier.
Mr. Trump has called the dossier ‘fake’ and ‘discredited,’ and has denied any collusion with Russia by his campaign. He also has denied having any business ties or debts to Russian interests or the Russian government. Moscow has denied interfering with the election… The transcript of Mr. Simpson’s 10-hour appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was released by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel’s top Democrat. Ms. Feinstein said she was releasing the transcript in part to rebut charges that Mr. Simpson had acted inappropriately.”
-Byron Tau, “Details on the Making of Trump Russia Dossier Are Disclosed,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 9, 2018 07:25pm