By turning over his tax returns, our so-called president could make much of this unpleasantness go away — or expose himself as the treasonous criminal he is.
So at least we all know why Donald Trump won't release his tax returns; they would put him in prison.
10
Steele was of his own free will providing information to the FBI. He was not under investigation by the FBI. Steele was under no obligation as far as contact with journalists. He would have no reason to lie to them and they would have no reason to ask.
6
“More than a year has gone by since these memos were produced,” Mr. Simpson said. “I have not become aware of any disinformation.”
Most bogus ending EVER!
Why? --- because it's difficult to prove that something that never happened never happened, and that's what Simpson is essentially saying --- that nobody has yet proven to him that things he and 007-for-hire claim someone told them happened didn't happen. FAIL
4
"Notorious Dossier"
Nora - Don't know who used it first, but the one part of the Dossier that came to be "famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed" was the Russian prostitutes episode - I have not read it, but apparently it is hard to "talk around" the events without veering into x-rated language or descriptions. I personally believe it is the one thing Mr T is afraid of - the embarrassment of being setup or led into participating in a very typical Russian plot to subvert people for political gain through blackmail over events the Russians themselves engineered. Mr T may be a lot of things - can't think of any good ones right now - but he cannot handle being labeled a deviant, or in need of "professionals" when it comes to the bedroom. I suspect it is this one thing keeping the testimonies from being released to the public.
Senator Feinstein just released the transcripts. The Guardian article of five minutes ago...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/09/trump-russia-dossier-sen...
3
So let's see where we are. Hillary Clinton, the DNC and the FBI all paid Fusion GPS to type up a bunch of fake news about Trump and called it a dossier. Then John McCain sends someone to fly over the England and get it. McCain then gives it to the FBI who then uses it to get a FISA warrant to spy on Trump. You can't make this stuff up.
9
Every word of your statement is categorically false. A true tRumper indeed. Just keep watching Fox dude!
1
You do realize that the only part of your observation that makes it a negative reflection on how disclosure played out is your conclusion that it is “fake”. As it stands, no one has been able to offer any evidence that it is not largely true. Do you know something the pros looking at this don’t?
4
No, I think you just did made that up. Read the article.
4
The cretins going after Mr. Steele operate under the 'kill the messenger' principal. Deflect and distract-blame others. tRump has been in bed with the Russians for over three decades and his crowd are protesting changing the sheets when fumigation is what's needed.
15
Anyone who took the time to read the information in the dossier knows there is much veracity in its contents. As we wait for our intelligence services and Mueller to find the necessary proof which will lead them to the undeniable conclusion of compromise, collusion, treason, and depravity, we watch as a clearly demented and debauched con man attempts to mislead our citizens and the world. With lie after lie and obfuscation after obfuscation, he, his family, cronies and the GOP attempt to dismantle reality, democracy and our venerable Constitution. Let no stone be unturned in the effort to find every lie, crime, collusion, money laundering, traitorous activity, or sexual crime the con man has ever perpetrated on our citizens, country or allies.
16
Watch what they do not what they say and the republicans (especially their "stable, genius") leader is scared to death...Every time Mueller gets close to another link in the chain that connects him and his merry band of liars and thugs, he panics and tries to place another roadblock or diversion in his path .. His guilt is so obvious now, It's almost funny .... He's quickly trying with EO to change the way America lives and functions, but so far , he has not passed (other than the nauseating tax"reform") much that cannot be undone once we get this fool out of office. My greatest fear is that, in a fit of pique, he will start a war and kill millions of people.. He is so unfit to govern it's scary...
8
Mr Grassley, you said he was uncooperative.. release the testimonies so we can see how uncooperative he was...
6
Anyone who refuses to blame Democrats is considered "Uncooperative", or worse, be Republicans.
3
Senator Grassley refers to the testimony of Mr Simpson as "uncooperative". The definition of "uncooperative" in this case is not providing information to refute the allegation Trump and his lackeys have cooperated with the Russians. Perhaps Mr Grassley, if you focused upon your task at hand, as a representative of democrats, republicans, and independents of Iowa, rather than seeing from your partisan bias, you might just find your POTUS is a crook; a point known by 3 million more Americans than those who voted for the con.
Release the transcripts from Mr Simpsons testimony. You are a public employee, the committee is a public committee, and the testimony is public as well. release the transcripts and let Americans decide for themselves.
4
I've always found it appropriate to sling mud at the oncologist when a malignant tumor is discovered in a loved one.
To quote John Dean, "There is a cancer on the presidency", and it's time to focus and protect what's left of it.
5
Amusing to read the rocking chair comments with their advice on how to determine the truth in a complicated juggernaut of nefarious journalism.
2
Here is the testimony:
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/9/3974a291-ddbe-4...
Thanks Senator Feinstein!
4
All the liberals think Trump does not care for the environment! Apparently, he loves waters sports! Can only wonder what Pence's roll is in these performances?
it used to be said that truth is stranger then fiction.
now, who call tell the difference?
but we can generally say that fiction, or lying, has some kind of motive, while truth is its own objective.
Attacking this guy is just a kill-the-messenger distraction.
The dossier is either true or it isn't. It is well known that Russia hired hackers and interfered in the election to help Trump, that Donald Junior had a meeting with Russians for the express purpose of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton, that Junior also said that the Trump empire has tons of money coming in from Russia, that Russians have bought Trump properties (in one case at an inflated value), and that Trump fired Comey because of the Russia investigation. All of that is known, substantiating at least some of the dossier.
Why is Congress harassing Fusion GPS, scratching in the dirt for their bank records, instead of investigating whether the claims in the dossier are true?
11
Fusion GPS was hired by GOP "No Trump" money men during the primaries to dig up dirt on Trump. When Trump won the primaries, the former "No Trump" Republicans pulled out. It was Fusion GPS that hired Steele, who had been considered MI6's best-connected Russia expert with the widest contacts in & out of Russia's government. Steele was trusted by the FBI because they had worked together before on earlier investigations. When the GOP pulled out of Fusion GPS, a Democratic money man replaced the Republican.
One of the reasons the FBI took Steele's dossier so seriously is that it corroborated a lot of information that Comey's investigation of Trump had already uncovered from other sources. So far, most of the charges in the dossier have been corroborated. Some are still under investigation, but NO charge has been proven wrong.
The FBI had already had an open investigation on some of Trump's people even before Trump won the primaries & nobody expected him to become president, so Trump's claim that this was just disaffected Democrats trying excuse Hillary's loss is a blatant lie. Trump's friends have said publicly that even Trump expected Hillary to win when he woke up election morning. Like in the movie "The Producers," Trump's strategy was to make money by failing, but to use the notoriety he & Bannon created to support a new Trump media empire based around Breitbart & other far-right "media" to replace Fox. That night Trump found himself, to his dismay, the President. Oops...
9
Making the Steele dossier a congressional secret of some sort is no more or less what I would expect from a Republican. They have a penchant for secrecy and will withhold even what should be public documents from the public.
Whining about 'liberal bias' in order to protect their own hides is par for the course.
2
I remember during the Watergate hearings the discussion that the country couldn't take the full truth exposed and that they only concentrated on the most egregious. But this thinking is wrong for a democracy. Release the transcripts. We are the voters. Give us all the information and we usually make the right choice. We didn't have all the information during the last election and look what happened. A democracy that doesn't trust their citizens is a lost democracy. I don't want to lose ours.
7
They get paid over $12 million dollars for 35 pages of "memos".
They have no idea if the information in the "memos" is true, but they generously estimate that at least something in there, somewhere, is probably true. They don't even seem to care if their information was accurate, but then accuracy was not why they were hired.
They claim to have not paid any Russia sources for information, because, well, that would be illegal.
$12 million. 35 pages of bunk.
The NYT again attempts to claim that the entire Trump/Russia collusion nonsense investigation was begun at the behest of an Aussie and a Brit - both of whom cared deeply about the US election. It had nothing to do with Hillary or the DNC at all.
We shall see.
5
You bet, we shall see.
3
The dossier was financed by the Hillary campaign to the tune of 13.5 million dollars. The fake dossier was given to McCain who then gave it to the FBI (James Comey) and without any fact checking Comey under orders from his boss used the fake dossier to get a FISA warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. All of it is illegal. The real collusion was with Hillary and uranium one. Mueller is trying to get a one on one with Trump to hash out some sort of deal so that Mueller can save his own skin. Comey is also on the hot seat for leaking classified info to a friend who then gave it to the media. This is not looking good for the investigators.
3
If Republicans/Conservatives are upset, Simpson, et.al., are on the right track.
3
Rather than direct our intelligence community to explore the data in order to secure our democracy from intrusion, the light instead is shinned on the collectors of the data.
Shoot the messenger when you don't like the message. Does this GOP "modus operandi" portend how Mueller will be treated? Has Sessions instructed his aides to initiate some dirty information campaign against Steele and Simpson?
Using political positional power in order to intimidate the opposition is exactly the MO of budding fascist governments. For those who think this behavior serves them, they should fear how easily the focus can change.
We all should fear the changing focus.
2
Mr. Flegenheimer excellent article contains one major omission. He correctly states that Simpson and his co-founder insisted in a NYT op-ed that "Congress release the transcripts of the firm's testimony." What he doesn't say was that the Committee originally wanted him to testify in public but he and others insisted that the testimony be behind closed doors.
4
First, this is a very well written article. I mean the writing, not just the research. Burps. Defecations. Jocular — or at least consistent with the story line.
Second, big money has corrupted much of the political class on both side.
That said, the Republicans, not just in the administration but also both houses of Congress, are clearly trying to cover something up. Just how far has Russian influence and payola gone?
13
Collusion with foreign nationals, foreign heads of state or foreign governments to influence U.S, elections is lawful unless the methods used are illegal. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met with foreign heads of states during the 2016 campaign to discuss foreign policy issues. Both campaign accepted disparaging or incriminating information about their political rivals from Russians linked to the Kremlin or Vladimir Putin. Both candidates were endorsed or disparaged by heads of foreign states. Foreign nationals did volunteer work for both candidates. None of this is illegal.
So far the only crime related to the 2016 election—other than lying to the FBI in post-election interviews—appears to be the hacking of the Democratic National Committee email. The U.S. intelligence community alleges that Russia hacked DNC email and gave it to WikiLeaks, but the suspicion endures that a DNC insider downloaded the email and gave it to WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has offered to provide proof WikiLeaks did not get the DNC email from Russian in exchange for the same type of immunity to prosecution afforded U.S. news media outlets when they publish purloined documents. The United States should take Assange up on his offer. If Assange’s proof is convincing, the Russian investigation should be terminated.
7
Not correct on many points. Had the Trump campaign made promises to the Russians in exchange for help during the election, that would be illegal. If Trump is acting, essentially as a Russian agent, that would be illegal. If the Trump campaign worked with the Russians by providing targeting information for Russian propaganda, that is potentially illegal. The idea that Assange could provide "proof" as to the who provided him with stolen information is laughable, since there could be a middle man and Assange would have no way of knowing the actual provenance of the information. And even if he could, for the reasons stated, the Mueller and his team have plenty of other crimes to investigate. The only suspicion that endures regarding an inside job at the DNC is in the echo chamber of the right wing propaganda industry.
2
"Both campaign accepted disparaging or incriminating information about their political rivals from Russians linked to the Kremlin or Vladimir Putin."
What? We know that is true for Trump because of the Junior meeting and emails. Because the Russians interfered to help Trump, I don't know why you say this is true of Clinton.
And, it is illegal. Pursuant to 52 U.S.C. Code Section 30121, it is unlawful for any "person to solicit, accept, or receive" a "thing of value" from a foreign national. Junior said in an email he would love to accept opposition research against Clinton from the Russian government, through the people he met with.
4
Seems to me you're peddling more right wing drivel. Assange is hardly known for his credibility-& the pattern of the Trump White House has been to repeatedly lie about contacts it has had with the Russians until the media has shown otherwise-the infamous Trump Tower meeting being the most notable example. Oh, & in case you hadn't noticed, the indictmnts keep on coming.
The more the public knows about the Russia investigation the better. Good news.
16
Senator Grassley probably has good reason to hide the Steele dossier since many Republicans are also taking Russian money for their political action committees. He might be as well. Donald Trump and the political action committees for Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich and John McCain accepted $7.35 million in contributions from a Ukrainian-born oligarch who is the business partner of two of Russian president Vladimir Putin's favorite oligarchs and a Russian government bank.
Marco Rubio's Conservative Solutions PAC and his Florida First Project received $1.5 million through Blavatnik's two holding companies. Other high dollar recipients of funding from Blavatnik were PACS representing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at $1.1 million, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham at $800,000, Ohio Governor John Kasich at $250,000 and Arizona Senator John McCain at $200,000.
37
American Elections have become too expensive. Wealthy American Donors can no longer cough up enough money for the Candidates.
It’s now an International Bidding War, and Russia is winning?
At what point will American Voters
demand to publicly finance their own elections and return political
power back to One Person One Vote Democracy?
This is the real issue in 2018.
3
There are only two issues worth scrutiny: the veracity of the work product, and the Republican-controlled committees conspiracy to hide facts from the American people by a coordinated scheme to discredit the investigators.
Tell me why, Senator Grassley, will you not make good on your promise to release the Steele testimony?
27
Considering Trump’s allegations about Obama’s not being a US citizen, he shouldn’t be surprised about investigations into his own business ties with Russia, legal or not.
11
Release the transcripts. In addition, Trump's tax returns need to be made public. He did promise, didn't he? Because that 's what the real story is.
23
“Uncooperative,” Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said of Mr. Simpson’s turn before the Judiciary Committee, which he leads. “Very cooperative,” said Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, where Mr. Simpson also appeared.
If Grassley believes Simpson was “uncooperative,” why not release the transcripts of his testimony to prove it?
73
As Trump performs and his GOP acolytes applaud, the Capitol burns
15
Amazing. The 2016 election in which the Democrats preposterously try to claim to be on the side of the angels and Trump who is just plain abysmal.
5
The Dems were bad - no doubt. But they were just a continuation of the establishment elite who had been in both parties since Reagan was elected. We survived Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, GW Bush (barely), and Obama. As much as a neo-liberal DINO as Hillary was, she was just an ordinary slimy politician.
Trump is a horse of a different color, & we will be lucky to survive even 1 term with him at the controls. He's navigating the Ship of State as if he is sacrificing chickens & reading their entrails for directions. Every chicken sends him off in another direction (or to another golf course LOL).
1
So Mr. Simpson met with Ms. Veselnitskaya hours before she met with Trump Jr. and again shortly thereafter, but he was totally unaware of that meeting in Trump Tower? That strains credulity.
And similarly, we are to believe that a drunken statement by Papadoupoulos was the impetus for investigating the Trump campaign even though the FBI didn't interview Papadoupoulos until February 2017? All the while the Steele dossier was an open secret in DC? The FBI could easily clear this up by releasing the information provided to the FISA judge to justify wiretapping Trump campaign associates but so far they have not. Why not?
5
The DEEP STATE! (Repeat in a very low voice.) The DEEP STATE.
You should be very paranoid. Or, perhaps more accurately, crawl farther under your paranoid blanket, and pull it tightly over your head.
3
They ‘met’ in a Courtroom.
The days of pretending the Trumps are "new at this" is over. Trump would fire in a heartbeat any employee who pulled that "I didn't know" card."
Fusion GPS has NO problem having their testimony before the House and Senate opened to the public. So why does that Corn Pone Grassley and his Republican Bully Boys?
You know why. That testimony was already heard and read by the Dems when GPS testified. It so obviously contains data the GOP knows makes them look guilty.
So it may be time to so a Senator Gravel on the GOP. When Congress refused to release the Pentagon Papers, Gravel spent 4 hours reading it as head of a Senate Committee which is absolutely allowed.
The GOP is not the only power in our government. If they want to play dirty, it's time the Dems did the same.
16
Both former British spy Christopher Steele and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya are foreign nationals who delivered opposition research to U.S. political campaign, but there is an important difference. Paying foreign nationals for campaign work violates the Federal Election Campaign Act. Foreign nationals also violate the FECA by accepting payment for campaign work. However, the FECA permits foreign nationals to do volunteer work for U.S. political campaigns. According to the Federal Election Commission, “Generally, an individual, including a foreign national, may volunteer personal services to a federal candidate or federal political committee without making a contribution. The Act provides this volunteer ‘exemption’ as long as the individual performing the service is not compensated by anyone.”
Fusion GPS, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee violated the FECA by paying Steele, and Steele violated the FECA by accepting payment. During the Trump Tower meeting, Veselnitskaya volunteered financial documents she said showed the Clinton campaign accepted illegal campaign contributions because Donald Trump campaigned on promises to improve Russia-U.S. relations, including the lifting of sanctions that adversely affected her clients. She used the meeting to lobby against the Magnitsky Act, but the Trump campaign opted not to use the documents she present or make the Magnitsky Act a campaign issue. She did not ask for or receive payment.
10
Granted two wrongs don't make a right but do you REALLY think these Russians actually operated out of the goodness of their (and Putins) souls and without compensation from someone? That they just run around NYC's gold coast doing charitable work? Such is the porousness of our election laws in financial matters. And, of course. the whole process was set in motion by the GOP candidates who were running against Trump in the primary. Perhaps we should refer to it as "The Fusion GPS/GOP Scandal."
6
Russia didn’t have to be paid to support Donald Trump. Russia acted in its own interest. It supported Trump because Trump campaigned on promises to improve Russia-U.S. relations. Russia hoped Trump would lift sanctions and recognize its annexation of the Crimea. And Vladimir Putin has hated Hillary Clinton since she accused him of rigging Russian parliamentary election. Similarly, Mexico supported Clinton because she campaigned against the border all and promise to provide a pathway to citizenship for Mexicans residing illegally in the United States.
My understanding is that Fusion was paid by an "independent" group, in this case a law firm, skirting the law. These folks all have their lawyers and violation of the law in such an overt manner seems unlikely.
The shame is that whether or not Trump did defile the bed in the Russian hotel, his actions to date allow people to think it possible.
14
Dear Zoned, I agree. After initially believing it was impossible, I've changed my mind based on his bizarre obsession with women's bodily fluids -- Mica B. and Megan K allegedly bleeding, and then saying HRC taking a bathroom break was "disgusting." Who else thinks about women like that?
2
Forget the formal Congressional Fusion GPS transcripts. Let any Congressman or CNN have an open hearing with Fusion GPS principals and ask the relevant same questions! The public needs to know!
13
“In practice, Fusion’s task has often translated, roughly, to finding unsavory things about unsavory people...”
It seems they did that very well in this case. Few people on this planet are as unsavory as Donald; well, Vladimir Putin is definitely worse than Donald, I must admit.
8
There were way too many republicans meeting with Russians throughout the campaign and probably before that may be implicated in the Mr. Simpson's testimony.
My best guess is that Senator Grassley is trying to hide the relationship between Russians and republican members of his congress.
I betcha Trump is not the only one who has been thoroughly compromised
24
Yes, many others, including the DNC and Hillary's campaign, have been thoroughly compromised. The are no good actors in this Greek tragedy.
7
The big difference: Trump is the POTUS.
3
Donald Jr and other members of the Trump administration and campaign staff, met with Russians regarding securing information to assist them in the election. This fact is beyond dispute at this point. Yet, it is not Donald Jr who are under the GOP microscope, it is the individuals, such as Steele and Fusion GPS, who alerted the FBI to the problems, are the ones being attacked by the GOP. We have stepped through the looking glass, right is wrong and wrong is right. There was a time when I believed that there were political differences among those of us who call ourselves Republicans and Democrats, but is this is the first time I have thought of an entire political party to be diametrically opposed to the interest of the country it purports to serve.
72
Is it possible that the Republicans quit researching Trump through Fusion GPS when they saw where the investigation was heading, i.e. not good for Republicans?
11
That the dossier was published isnt't the issue. That the dossier, which seemingly has not been verified by the FBI, may have been used in FISA warrants is the problem.
9
The FBI has verified a large portion of the dossier, and they have repeatedly denied that it was the basis for a FISA warrant. Since the FISA warrants were (1) a resumption of a warrant to wiretap Manafort from 2014 and (2) a warrant to wiretap Carter Page after he left the campaign but was in contact with Russians, it seems illogical for them to have needed the dossier. All other wiretaps were of Russian nationals on American soil -- pretty much a routine experience. I doubt the court would allow the basis or documentation for the warrants to be made public, so all any of us can do is follow the time line and decide whose statements are most likely to be credible.
4
Just for fun, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and explore the many connections between these sentences:
"“He’s a professional smear campaigner and liar for money,” Mr. Browder said of Mr. Simpson. “The credibility of anything that he does is in question.”
-and-
"William F. Browder, an American-born financier..."
It might help to meditate upon our current President at the same time, if you can.
Really, though, how can these people ignore that 'the dossier' is a Republican document, while sputtering with outrage that Democrats could be so perfidious?
Where's the outrage for Republicans who started this whole thing?
11
I frankly don't care about Simpson's or Steele's character; I care about what they found and whether it holds water.
At the same time, however, I will say that it speaks volumes about Simpson's character that he refused to work for Rupert Murdoch. I well remember Murdoch's ascension and thinking at the time, "There goes the Journal," because any journalist worthy of the profession would walk out the door and never look back. And I was right. The Journal used to be a very fine newspaper, but the only people who remained are those with no other options. Hacks, in other words. And it sounds as though Simpson was a first-rate journalist.
What has happened to our country such that we are more troubled by the source of information than we are the truth of the information? When did "spin" become so predominant in national discourse that we aren't willing to work to separate the slanders from the truths? I realize that Simpson is no longer a journalist and that his skills have been put to use by dubious clients. This particular research, however, has clearly captivated him personally. Turning information over to the FBI does not seem the action of someone trying to protect a spin.
Mueller is no dummy, and he has his own resources for research. It's high time to verify or dismiss the allegations on the basis of their veracity without personalities on either side holding sway. And to make the facts public.
80
who cares if he drank to much in HS or if he's polite with his digestive system? That's not journalism.
5
"What has happened to our country such that we are more troubled by the source of information than we are the truth of the information? "
You're kidding, right?
Remember Old Speaker Newt? 1996, I think, he lied to the ethics committee, tried to hide questionable money, and was caught on tape scheming with other extraordinarily moral Republicans how to game the system.
Their conversation was unwittingly intercepted by a Florida couple as they were driving around with their police scanner on.
The outcome?
Nobody cared about the content of the conversation; in fact the tape was essentially grounds for refusing to investigate. The Florida couple were sued, as is Republican wont, found guilty in Florida's Republican courts, and made to pay thousands of dollars for their concern about political corruption.
That showed 'em.
13
Just a Mom and Pop couple out cruising around with their police scanner recording whatever was wafting on the airwaves. Yeah.
1
There are investigations into Russian interference in our elections not because of Fusion GPS, but because Russia interfered in our elections. Meanwhile, thanks to Nunes, and Grassley, and the rest of the Trump defense squad, NOTHING has been done to protect this nation from Russian interference in the next election.
41
For a long-form article on "the man behind an explosive dossier," there's really not much detail on what role Simpson actually played in the dossier's creation. We know he works at Fusion GPS. He was the co-founder actually although the article doesn't appear mention his position. However, being known as a dogged journalist who happens to own a research firm doesn't mean Simpson had much to do at all with the dossier's physical production. How much time does your company's co-founder spend doing research and analysis these days? In my experience, no one above a managing director ever touches a document unless they need talking points for a meeting. I'm not sure why anyone at all is particularly interested in Glenn R. Simpson.
7
Ever hear the phrase "The Buck Stops Here"?
Lets cut through all the media and political distractions and answer 2 questions regarding Mr. Simpson and the dossier:
1.) Did Mr. Simpson and Fusion GPS break the law in its work preparing the dossier. I would guess not since I'm sure a bunch of republican lawyers and investigators have looked into this and no law suits or criminal charges have been forth coming. Opposition research is not an illegal activity.
2.) Are the assertions in the dossier accurate and based on verifiable facts and evidence? This question which is the most important has not been completely answered to date. Lets hope that ultimately it will be answered.
13
The key fact about opposition research and/or related "due diligence" work of the type produced by GPS Fusion whether it's targeting your best friend or the Orange One is that the most sensational elements of any report are typically "unsubstantiated" and single sourced. The sort of stuff a serious newspaper would never publish. The most profitable practioners of this business - former journalists, cops and spies are expert at creating an illusion of intrigue, bafflegab and inside sources/access to their old networks etc... which excite their clients with the prospect that they are getting access to some "secret" information. Graham Greene was a master a exposing the nonsense this entails and inspires in such classics as "Our Man in Havana" which was actually inspired by his experience in the British Intell service wherein it was common practice for sources to make up information that pleased their handlers to keep the cash coming. What ever side of the US political divide you are on anything produced by firms such as GPS needs to be taken with a large dose of salt. But often the people paying for this "information" understand that. What they really want is some dirt to throw at the other side one or two steps removed with some plausible deniability. Actual accuracy of the information is almost irrelevant. It's an ugly business.
6
The above may well be true but doesn’t explain the risk both professional and personal that Steele took in giving his research to the FBI. If he just wanted to make money and please the Clinton campaign he could have just handed over the research to them or leaked direct to the media. Involving the FBI suggests a more noble motive.
7
Mr. Simpson traffics in facts; he would not be as in-demand if he were peddling falsehoods upon which his employers were unable to hang their ambitious hats.
He is an equal-opportunity dredger, just like any reporter worth her or his salt. For that reason, he draws ire from every political ilk. That is not a bad thing; if one particular group liked him, his product would not be as valuable.
Simpson said it himself - sometimes the facts undermine someone with whom he sympathizes; sometimes the facts support someone with whom he does not.
He and Steele are ones to watch simply because they have no allegiances, a seeming rarity inside the Beltway Swamp.
13
The "deep state" and "shadow government" that President Trump keeps complaining about is actually the Republican Party.
It began on the day President Obama was inaugurated and Paul Ryan had a secret meeting with fellow Republicans to devise a plan to undermine Obama in every way possible.
It was when Mitch McConnell decided to make Obama a one-term president by undermining Obama in every way possible, even though Obama won by nearly 10 million votes over McCain.
It continued when McConnell decided that Republicans wouldn't hold a hearing on Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, something that had never happened before.
It continued last year with secret meetings held by Republicans to try and replace the ACA.
It continued with the tax bill, a massive bill written in secret by Republicans and lobbyists, but no Democrats, with no input from Democrats.
It continues now with Republicans denigrating a stellar public servant, a war hero, Special Counsel Mueller.
It continues with Chuck Grassley and his fellow lily-livered Republicans refusing to allow Americans to see transcripts of testimony about Russian interference in our elections.
The bottom line is, why?
What are Republicans afraid of? Why are they protecting Putin and the Russians? Why don't they want to get to the bottom of the Russian hacking? Why are they acting as if they have a mandate, when their candidate received 3 million less votes than his opponent?
Why are Republicans against transparency and democracy?
53
the truth?
you can't handle the truth!
( we are much better off when we get to tell you what the truth is, no questions asked.)
Excellent summary! All citizens should be asking this of the GOP again and again.
Glenn Simpson <> Steve Bannon...
Ever notice how these guys are never in the same picture - or in the same place at the same time...
Clark Kent <> Kal-El...
Just sayin'...
Where there's smoke [and mirror fake news], there's [a planet on] fire...
Not to [further] overdo the obvious analogy - and settled-similarity...
But...
This multi-episodic arc seems to have trapped both Steve-Glenn and Glenn-Steve on some Bizarro Earth, where they've become estranged from their benefactors...
Where a respected former New Yorker New Yorker writer has compiled a sequel to the Russian Dossier - facts and dialog vetted as thoroughly and accurately as the original...
Can only presume and hope that - like all other comic-book-based TV shows - the Networks have a new bunch of episodes that resolve these dilemmas...With terse gripping dialog and zany plot twists...
Or - can we look forward to a comics section in the NYT, in 2018...
Or - at least some op-eds by Stan Lee...
Think I'm smokin' something???
Marvel HQ is about a half-mile from the NYT's HQ...
Enough for me - it's settled-speculation that a secret tunnel runs between them...
2
I wish the Times would stop mixing personality traits and family background into news articles. I do not care whether Mr. Simpson burps, nor what he did when he was a high school senior, nor if he encouraged his dog to defecate near the desks of his colleagues as he was leaving the WSJ. I do care if the work of Fusion GPS is credible. Note, I said "credible" -- not truthful or completely accurate. Neither journalism nor politics is a place for saints, and I doubt that few voters expect either.
I do not care who paid for the research. I do care that Senator Grassley, and now Sen. Lindsay Graham, seem bent on digging into Fusion GPS, rather than the real issues of how the Russians influenced the election in 2016. I am alarmed that the GOP controlled Congress seems uninterested in finding ways to prevent further Russian meddling in our elections. I am disgusted that Sen. Grassley approves of not releasing the transcript of the Fusion GPS prior interviews with his committee, but recommends a criminal investigation of Mr. Steele.
Based on Mr. Simpson's years as an investigative journalist, as described in this article, his work is far more likely to be accurate than the statements from Sen. Grassley. As for the dossier, Fusion GPS has never presented it as 100% factually true, but rather as a report from sources that were regarded as reliable. The FBI has since verified much of it. Please, let us get to the serious issues in this situtation.
28
Why is Grassley refusing to release transcripts of the Fusion GPS testimony? What is he scared of? Whatever the reason, it amounts to obstruction of justice and Grassley is liable for prosecution along with the rest of the Trump cabal.
29
Very sad that these British citizens are more patriotic to the U.S. than the President and GOP Congress.
22
It is amazing how Truth often imitates Art. John LeCarre couldn't have come up with a better plot outline. Now we will see how this novel turns out in real life.
1
More intrigue, more questions. My question is why won’t Grassley release the information on The Simpson interrogation. Why won’t Nunes release the information on The Simpson interrogation. What does Grassley and Nunes have to hide?
Simpson is not the only one who should be interrogated. Start looking at the Commitee heads in Congress and the Senate. They obviously do not have the best interests of the Country in mind.
14
One over-riding question stands un-answered; why would Trump or any other American impugn NATO?
A fact for all to see is that Trump likes the psychopathic Putin but impugns NATO.
13
Republicans love to kill the messenger when the news is something they don’t want to hear. They push their own narrative no matter how untrue or uncouth that narrative maybe. Watching Donald Trump‘s minions stand behind him meekly smiling at camp David while he repeated his denial of collusion and crime was milk sop sickening. They all knew they were listening to nothing but lies but they all nodded in agreement. Weaklings all.
42
So do the democrats, Mick.
1
Black and white thinking, Jane.
5
It will all end very badly for the trumpies!
4
like Churchill who knew he'd be sober in the morning, Republicans come off like loutish, greedy, selfish crooks they are now... but they know they'll be let off scott free and still wealthy, comes the dawn.
1
The democrats need to make the dossier public!
14
The dossier is already public - check the Buzzfeed website - you can read it there. The thing that's NOT public is Fusion's testimony before Congress.
4
Why does the synopsis of this article, and so many other articles about the dossier, refer to it as the "notorious dossier"? Why the word "notorious," with its negative connotations? Why not "explosive", as the article itself says? Or some other adjective that's neutral.
37
It still seems that we are mired in "beliefs" rather than steeped in facts, as in who to believe: Simpson or Steele or Trump or whoever else. When are we going to see a well-researched article on what points have been corroborated as factual from the Dossier? Given that Trump consistently categorically denies every single thing about it as fiction, a few known facts would certainly go a long ways towards establishing its and by default Simpson's and Steele's credibility.
46
It’s easy. Just take the opposite that Resident Trump says and you get the truth. Granted, it would be easier if the networks gave us edited subtitles so we could understand what the heck he was saying.
1
The connections between Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele and the Bush and Clinton financiers have be well known for at least a half year. Why is this only know being reported in this paper? Where in this article is the mention of some of the amounts of money given to Fusion GPS and Steele, also well known? Readers here might find that drip, drip drip in unexpected places.
5
carl bumba, Fusion GPS digs up documents for anyone willing to pay for them. If the Trump administration left a paper trail of any sort, Fusion GPS is as likely as any investigative agency to find it. The only difference is that Fusion is a for-hire service.
The money funding the Fusion investigation is immaterial. Either Fusion can provide documentation that supports the allegations of illegal campaign activity or it can't. Of course the Republicans can continue to ignore whatever evidence this investigation turns up, much the way they ignore scientific data and scientific conclusions on a routine basis. They certainly seem to have cornered the market on this approach to research.
7
So what?
Thanks, Adam. But you speak with authority that I have to question. I believe the money behind "research" if VERY important to know. As a scientist, I witnessed money- and status-driven bias frequently. I assume these same issues affect the field of journalism.
1
It is a fact of life that whistleblowers are often not particularly attractive people, but they disclose ugly facts that the glib con artists would prefer to hide. Think Wells Fargo, for instance. This piece buys into the "attack the messenger" mentality, without a mention of the increasing evidence that the facts described in the "dossier" are true. Right on Simpson and Steele, thank you for digging into this pile of dirt. Please keep going.
51
Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who presented documents purported to show the Clinton campaign accepted ill3gal campaign donations was a whistle blower.
The Russians who promised George Papadopoulos email incriminating Hillary Clinton were whistleblowers,.
The hackers who gave DNC email to WikiLeaks were also whistleblowers. The email showed the DNC was stacking the deck against Bernie Sanders in favor of Hilary Clinton.
1
I think it's clever of the Times to lean hard on Simpson to see whether he holds up. That way, his evidence and testimony can be taken more seriously. If Simpson's dirty laundry is aired, and it doesn't amount to much, then Mueller can more easily move forward with his work.
7
Of course, the opposite is also true. If Mr. Simpson is exposed a "liar for money", it may haunt the efficacy of Mr. Mueller's work.
Norton didn't smell so good when he came up from a long day working in the sewer, either, but loads of people in Brooklyn were counting on him to keep things moving in the subterranean darkness they didn't want to visit themselves.
we learned in school why argumentum ad hominem is a logical fallacy... but Republicans are notorious for evading even logic.
so how have been been so foolish as to let them be in charge?
1
Does British intelligence know more than US intelligence about Trump’s Russian connection?
It would be interesting to get an estimate of how much of the relevant Russian information was paid for by the Republicans. Does it seem odd that they would be fine with turning over Fusion’s research to the Democrats? (Unless of course they thought it transcended politics as usual.)
Octogenarians should not be chairman of important committees -Grassley is an embarrassment to himself. Congress has no right to keep this investigation from us.
47
Investigating this dossier is a work of genius by the GOP House and Senate. They can look like they are investigating the president's enemies -- but at any moment they can use the information they obtain to remove the president.
2
Fascinating point.
The article depicts Simpson and his company as guns-for-hire.
Capitalizing on information is no different that capitalism in any other form: a force of human nature that finds whatever it can to feed on. It has no intrinsic morality.
Fusion GPS is amoral feeding on an amoral environment.
The product that it produces - unearthed information - must be judged simply on its merits. Is it accurate or not? Since they are paid to provide ammunition that works, I suspect a lot of it is viable.
27
Shoot the messenger !
Shoot the truth !
Shoot the sun !
GOP 2018
47
Steele seems like an upright guy. And he was head of the Russia desk for MI6, which supports his credibility.
What he found was worrisome enough for him to contact the FBI.
But he has said that 10-30% of the dossier is incorrect.
There was that endless song and dance about funding, which doesn't inspire confidence that there was no bias. Plus, once the DNC and Clinton campaign were indentified as funders, it became "opposition research." "Done all the time."
That turned into "intelligence" when it looked better for Fusion and Clinton and worse for Trump.
Now we've got the bank records--and speculation that they will show payments to journalists. Along with claims that there is widespread evidence supporting the dossier, alongside Comey calling it unproven and salacious.
There is not one iota if this that is clean, clear and consistent. And it needs to be all of that.
8
Disagree, Talbot. The dossier just needs to be true. Forget the Moscow hotel room; money talks. And it’s saying Trump was compromised from the start.
3
MESink: Even Steele says 10-30% is wrong. The question is, what is correct and what isn't, and how is it proven?
Too bad the Republicans are not as interested in finding out about Donald Trump‘s tax returns. They are so uninterested in who funds him and his money laundering because they know the answer is Russia and oligarchs.
4
You forgot that GPS Fusion was hired by the Clinton machine and the DNC to create the dossier in the first place - to discredit our easily discredited President. From Zerohedge: "Though neither the DNC nor the Clinton campaign worked directly with former British spy Christopher Steele as he compiled the document, the fact that Democrats funded the dossier – which includes information primarily gleaned from sources in Russia – ironically suggests the Democrats indirectly leveraged Russian sources to try and spread information of dubious veracity about a political opponent to try and sway an election."
Sounds familiar, doesn't it.
8
Excuse me? Did you not read the article? The opposition research was begun by 'a conservative website, The Washington Free Beacon, financed largely by Paul Singer, a top Republican donor who had opposed Mr. Trump.' GEEWHIZ MAN!
9
You are mistaken. The dossier was obtained by republicans initially.
3
Technique of the "big lie". Repeat it often enough and it is believed by trumpists, who are incapable of critical thinking.
4
How very reasonable to grant the request to release the transcripts of his presumably sworn testimony to the respective congressional committees. This would reasonably resonate more with a concerned public than the shameless strutting by Senators Graham and Grassley who have suddenly found a nesting place in the Oval Office.
45
We might inquire of Graham why the turnabout from concern and derision of Trump to lying next to him in bed. Senator Graham, via his 2016 campaign manager, Christian Ferry, who used to work for Paul Manafort may be the answer. He and Grassley et al loving a little oligarch bribe money? Threats by Russia against them? All of the above?
5
Didn't know that about Ferry & Manafort.
Certainly hints at what LG and DT must talk about when they go a' golfin' together.
2
Political parties and politicians and their fellow travelers are part of the American political cesspool. And most Americans are not informed enough to sort through the lies and chicanery and backdoor deals and influence. So shame on the voters plus the 90 million who elect not to vote.
2
Republican hack pols and Sean Hannity are obviously confident that most Americans are the worst critical thinkers in the world—if they credit them as thinkers at all. If any document has already *proven* to be even 50% accurate on matters of serious national consequence with facts previously unknown, what possible difference could it make to anyone, except the blind, eager to be duped, who paid for it? OR, whether it was the source of an investigation that has confirmed many of its legally threatening consequential assertions. Grassley and Graham must either be alarmed that its so-far unproven salacious assertions will be widely believed—just like the ones their party proposes and counts on being believed all the time—or, as noted above, assume that many or most don’t have sufficient “executive function” to discriminate the highly pertinent from the irrelevant.
9
worst of all - the dodge works!
Donald Trump and his administration ARE a big threat to democracy.
However SOME of his opponents are to my mind WORSE than him and the RNC. That is the Clinton DNC and it's MSM allies for who 'crying wolf' never seemed like the disastrous idea it really is.
The case against Trump over Russian collusion is WEAK! It always has been and having watched the Armed services committee last summer (July) with my veteran buddy Laz, it was clear this was just a Stalinist show trial with only the CIA chief comfortable with the 'proof' of Russian collusion
Since the election this paper itself has repeatedly shown IT'S contempt for democracy and the truth, shown in its refusal to analyze honestly the utter disasters of Hillary foreign policies in Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq or Honduras or Yemen.
Writing articles like 'Is there too much democracy in the Democratic Party' with suggestions that the 'people are too stupid to know their own best interests' and the encroaching end of internet liberty (see Google) all to stop the 'wrong opinions' while condemning 'weaponized truths (ie those embarrassing to our Elite like Wikileaks 'Panama Papers') have convinced me to leave the un Democratic Party and vote independent.
I say no to eternal war, McCarthyism, 'controlling the narrative' and one candidate races. I say no to war crimes, whether committed by GW Bush, Donald Trump OR Hillary Clinton! And yes there is a clear Democratic winning prospect, not another Hillary but Warren or Sanders!
2
"The case against Trump over Russian collusion is WEAK!" It beats me how you can say this when none of us yet know what Mueller is uncovering. At this stage of the game, a statement like that is nothing more than underlying bias.
23
Release the transcript. The GOP is so in love with Trump, the Shiny object of their choice. So many corrupt men working together for corporations making easy money, hurting their own people! Blatantly!
Follow the money!!!!
102
So many corrupt men working together for corporations making easy money, hurting their own people. Blatantly!
You said it, Bea! Thanks
2
The GOP is not 'in love with Trump.' Just as the Dems weren't 'in love with Sanders.'
grASSley, release the transcript. You promised, thinking it would be against the Dems. Now that it most certainly is not, you are holding it tightly. That tells us something you would rather not release, yes?
2
A journalist and a spy. Men who have spent their lives learning how to ferret out facts. The journalist acclaimed for decades. A British spy, trained by our greatest ally.
Who or what are we trying to protect here? The American people, the American free and fair election process, the Constitution of the United States, or a reality TV host, who through a quirk in the electoral collage, won the presidential election of 2016 with 3 million fewer votes than his opponent?
I know that there are many ethical Republicans in this country. They are appalled by the circus unfolding in Washington. However, legislators like Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz are more than willing to sell their support to a man they once vilified.
A strong system can withstand attack from outside. Internal rot has destroyed many nations throughout history.
164
A journalist and a spy?! Where's your disbelief? We should ask journalism school professors if they think these two careers would work together. The external methods journalists use to maintain objectivity are probably little used by spies.
A well-balanced and thoughtful comment. Paying attention, anyone?
3
I know that there are many ethical Republicans in this country.
Are you sure? Name a couple. I used to think that Graham was one of them, but the seduction of power through allegiance to the evil wizard in the White House prove too much for him to resist. Scratch a Republican, you get an authoritarian. Scratch an authoritarian, you get a corruptible soul.
2
When Criminal enterprises are discovered and prosecuted it is usually the result of one of the criminal insiders providing the evidence. It is the message not the messenger that is important about Russia's attacks on our democracy.
9
''It is the message not the messenger that is important about Russia's attacks on our democracy.''
Really?? Are you sure about that. I mean the whole argument against wikileaks was that, as true as their reveals have been, these truths were 'weaponized truths' (ie truths hurtful to US military interventions, oligarch tax evaders, the DNC and Hillary's reputation, non existent WMDs in Iraq, etc) along with the argument that 'truths can be weapons used by the bad guys' (so lies are the tools of the good??) Much more trust worthy than this hidden cowardly hit job paid for by the Clinton's and the same MSM who built Trump but now blame Russia's tiny influence for every problem in the world).
No mention that indeed we are the kings of meddling on others business es and denying it (see US secret wars in Kongo, Yemen or the lack of any serious journalistic analysis of OUR mistakes in the ME, all Russia's fault again apparently, even though WE armed ISIS and the crushed them.
Even though we abuse NGOs to smuggle rebellion, coups vs Democracies etc. And after the neo McCarthyism and 'one candidate races' (ala China, our Elites new Role model; see Google internet censorship) and articles like the NYT's recent 'IS the Democratic Party TOO Democratic' (coming after the sabotage proven by BOTH Donna Brazile (ignored by the MSM while far more contentious rumors like this clearly paid smear job) are called 'journalism'
Yes 'Yellow' Journalism!
2
Please READ THE ARTICLE. Do not respond with prepackaged 'thinking'.
The trolls are out in force today.
From the start, he was a central casting misfire — the dark artist slicing through the capital by electric scooter, a cloak-and-dagger digger better known to former colleagues for scratching his bare belly in plain office view....
[ I need to know this, why? ]
14
Rachel Maddow (MSNBC 9 pm ET weeknights) reported last night that democrats may read the dossier information, and other information the Mafia controlled senate and house supposed "justice" committees have heard into the public record to protect it for the future.
PLEASE elected officials who truly represent WE THE PEOPLE do it! The Con Don and his International Mafia Robber Baron brethren, and their operatives, may have gotten temporary control of OUR governments but temporary is the important word.
WE THE PEOPLE are the only ones who can/will stop them and NOW is the time - before they can destroy OUR infrastructure and lives even more.
136
So we want to read something that is known to be false into the public record? Will they be stating that the parts that are known to be false are invorrect?
The same Rachel amaddow that cried on live TV when HRC lost? Yeah, thats a nuetral reporter. We should listen to her opinion.
1
And you just KNOW that this is false how exactly?
Oh, you don't. You are just deflecting. And judging by all the spelling mistakes, not very knowledgeable about much of anything.
5
She does not pretend to be neutral and she is an anchor/host, not a reporter.
3
It is important for the voters that Congress make the Fusion GPS' hearing public. If there is nothing to hide, why worry.
59
What is stopping Fusion GPS from publishing a report on their activities with regard to the dossier? The only reason they wouldn't have done so before would surely only have been due to their need to protect their intellectual property rights. They don't have to use the exact words they used in answer to questions in Grassley's committee, they could use a narrative approach.
15
My thoughts exactly.
could be in conflict with their prior agreements with their sources and their paying clients.
The Times has been doing a wonderful job of presenting the perspectives of people with disabilities, showing them in the wide variety of meaningful roles they play in life. That makes it even more disappointing when articles like this one describe the fact that Mr. Simpson is a man that uses a scooter as a "central casting misfire." This portrayal conveys the unconscious assumption that a man with a disability can't play the role of "dark artist" or veteran journalist "turned master of high-dollar research." Why not? Clearly there is still work to be done in the Times newsroom.
13
The GOP's mantra... Shoot the messenger. Cause another distraction. Point the finger of blame elsewhere. But don't, for heaven's sake, deal with the problem of the Kremlin's direct and successful interference in our elections. That would be living up to the responsibilities of governing, something the GOP is loathe to do.
81
"The GOP's mantra... Shoot the messenger."
I am sure we could think of a better target!
2
The liberal press is still beating a dead horse. There was NO Russian collusion between Trump and Putin. There was however, significant Russian collusion between Hillary and Russia. Funny how the NYT refuses to publish the fact that the law firm BakerHostetler was paid by the Hillary campaign to finance GPS's report. Simple logic is that Hillary knowingly conspired with a foreign government in an attempt to damage her opponent.
Before anyone replies with No Way Jose, please remember that she did the same to Bernie in the Democratic primaries.
7
No way, Jon. Turn off Hannity and join the call for transparency -- release the transcripts. The truth will set you free.
24
no collusion eh? Then why all of the lies and coverups? This was either the work of collusion or a completely incompetent administration.
Nobody who has ever said "there was no collusion" has ever explained the myriad of lies. Can you?
32
What about Marco Rubio? He was the first one to hire Fusion. Did he collude with the Russians?
20
Once again, the GOP and Trump are involved in a campaign of deflection. Is that a modern term for "cover up"? Calling your opponent out for something which you actually did and they did not, is how the GOP play the game. And, their media outlet at Fox News, goes along with the deceitful action, convincing their viewers that Left is Right, Black is White and Right is Wrong.
It is highly likely that the documents compiled by Fusion GPS are very accurate. Russia has developed a policy, of sorts, to interfere in Western elections. They did it in France by supporting Marie Le Pen's party to the tune of almost $10M. So, it is not unlikely to believe that Russia interfered in our 2016 elections and helped Trump to win. It is not paranoia to believe Russian interests may have actually hacked into various state election computer systems around the US to slightly alter the results. In the end, it would have only taken a small number of districts in each state to gain just enough votes to win a state's Electoral College votes. The election is over, but the crimes are still there and have gone unpunished. So much for the Rule of Law. Investigations into the possible hacking has been largely ignored.
So, how can the GOP on the hill even seriously consider their actions against Simpson and his company? If you tell a lie enough to sway people to your side, many people will believe that lie to be the truth and ignore any factual evidence as "alternative facts".
55
Especially when dealing with quite a few people with critical thinking deficits.
1
This amounts to a hit piece on Glenn Simpson. It doesn't matter if he has half-eaten sandwiches on his desk or doesn't stifle burps. What does matter is that his firm did research on Trump for both Republicans and Democrats during the campaign and the dossier that was produced revealed that Trump is an unsavory individual tied to Russian oligarchs who launder money and who is very possibly being blackmailed by Putin which is the reason the Trump campaign jumped into bed with Putin the second that they got the chance. Why else would a known crud like Manafort have been brought into run Trump's campaign? And why was he doing the job for "free"? This is typical of the GOP -- kill the messenger or try to suppress his message instead of looking at the treasonous cretin in the WH or perhaps the treason is deep-seated in our Congress and Grassley and the others who are so eager to "kill the messenger and message" are part of that treason.
Very disappointing that the NY Times allowed a supposed reporter to write a hit piece on Simpson. Reminds of the "journalism" in 2016 in which Hillary Clinton was repeatedly disparaged and questioned in the NYT while the paper ignored the fact that Trump never spoke about anything substantive at his rallies but just spewed hate, bigotry, xenophobia and utter nonsense about a wall for which Mexico was going to pay. Obviously the lesson of that willful ignoring of the fact that Trump is a disaster wasn't learned.
186
Well, and succinctly stated. Our trolling trumpists should take note, but of course, won't.
3
Would the wish of this article becoming the opening salvo in a continuing series of reports on the dark underside of Washington legislation possibly be coming true???
The fact that the big money scamps who own the majority of news outlets may stifle its chances. In spite of that likelihood there is always hope the truth will continue to be published.
Left, Right, and Center our national political problems must be explained to the people. In the case of Fusion what we have is a failure to communicate too much for one political party and not enough for the other.
1
....."“Glenn’s a relentlessly digging sort of guy,” said Tim Burger, a friend and former colleague. “If there is a document out there about anything, he will find it.” And what Glenn can't FIND, he pays to have someone create!
9
Nonsense.
11
Trump doesn't pay anyone. He just makes up his own lies.
12
Where did you get this cockamamie idea, Elise? From Hannity? Maybe Senator Grassley? Maybe Rush Limbaugh?
9
"The Truth Shall Make You Free" and hopefully rid us of this turbulent president.
50
Trump is -truth, -knowledge and -ability. This report should be allowed for public viewing, then, maybe the Trumpers people will see Trump for what he is!
22
Release the transcripts. Arrest Senator Grassley.
170
Wow. Talk about fascism!
1
Jon,
How can arresting and making false accusations about their opponents be fascist? You dont understand, Liberal Fascism is OK because they are smarter than the rest of us. So they cant be bothered with the law or civil rights. It slows down the process.
1
So, now that the election has long passed, who is paying for all this ongoing research, and what is their motivation? Maybe its Russia itself, seeking to undermine our economy and this Administration. Perhaps Russia would prefer dealing with Oprah.
At least, she is honest! And absolutely will do a better job than our "part time president".
3
Yes, why not release the transcripts of Mr. Simpson's and Mr. Steele's testimonies, Senator Grassley? Could your refusal or reluctance to do so have something to do with the fact that they thoroughly contradict the scenario you and others, like Hannity, are feverishly attempting to advance? You work for us, sir! We have a right to demand and see the first person sourced material they gave you, not your third person laundering of the information they proffered.
268
Actually, John, the transcripts should NEVER be turned over to anyone outside the investigation UNTIL the investigation is closed. Since it is in the best interest of those in Congress (both parties) and the lawyers to NOT close any investigations (money in pocket), it should be some time until these are made public. Did you for get that mob rule was against the law?
1
Absolutely agree. The fact that grASSley won't release this info to me is absolute proof that there is a great deal he wants hidden.
2
Time to call or send Mr. Grassley a barrage pf emails demanding he release these transcripts.
We, the public, have the right to know what was said during those 30 hours of testimony.
4
"Few Washington industries traffic in sainthood. Many are mercenary in nature. And Fusion seems to be of a piece, hustling for its cut from an office in Dupont Circle."
What a murky piece, and also fine reporting! My takeaway really resides in the quote above--I guess it takes a special breed of personality to specialize in all this research.
It also seems convenient for opponents to focus on unsavory parts of an investigator who's researching information you inherently disagree with!
I know there's a battle right now between the two parties on how much to publicize from Mr. Simpson's testimony from hearings conducted the Senate Intelligence Committee.
I, of course would be for transparency, and yet, Republicans seem to want to trash the messenger rather than the message.
I suppose Democrats fervently wish Fusion and Simpson were a tad "cleaner"--this article certainly makes him seem like a journalistic thug.
And yet, given the enormity of the entire Trump-Russian affair and the lining up of sides to either credit or discredit his findings, my preference would be for full disclosure.
It reminds me of the 80s film, "A few good men" as Jack Nicholson ranted, "The truth? you can't handle the truth!"
Of course, I guess "truth" itself has become a debatable commodity in today's Washington.
104
See Jon Galt's post above to spread the blame to BOTH parties regarding this GPS hero/villain, depending on whose propaganda you want to believe. But does it matter? Really? We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. Prisoners all.
1
Nice try, but no bananas. Labeling this 'propaganda' eliminates critical thinking on what proves out. That label is an attempt to mitigate the information--you or "Jon Galt" aren't fooling any of those who are THINKING.
4