FBI/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s a document that became so famous — or infamous — in the two years since its existence was reported that it’s now known by a simple two-word phrase: the dossier. The controversial 35 pages of intelligence memos compiled by retired British spy Christopher Steele paint a picture of widespread conspiracy of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. To Democrats and President Donald Trump’s critics, the documents tell a story that could amount to treason. To Trump and some of his loudest defenders, the dossier was flawed from its inception, abused by the FBI to pursue an investigation into Trump’s team that preceded the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump has said the memos are ‘phony’ and full of lies, and has pointed out that the project was funded by his political opponents, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign. It was two years ago, January 6, 2017, that then-FBI Director James Comey briefed President-elect Trump about some details from the dossier. Days later, CNN broke the story of that briefing and reported that the FBI was investigating the accuracy of the allegations.”
–Marshall Cohen and Jeremy Herb, “Revisiting the Trump-Russia dossier: What’s right, wrong and still unclear?,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, January 7, 2019 6:12 pm