For my friend Mr. Veek. Ignore the "source," look at the sources in it, and read the conclusions. Christopher Steele is a respected, credible source and much of what he has alleged has proven to be true.
no commenting without reading every word!
Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier | The New Yorker
Jeff,
Since we're friends, I read the piece you cited by Ms. Mayer, all 14,825 words of it. She was a familiar name as I had previously read some of her work.
Your article is clearly a rebuttal to the criminal referral of Mr. Steele by Mr. Grassley of the U.S. Senate and a refreshed catalogue for public consumption of all of the salacious misdeeds attributed to Mr.Trump (whether they related to his alleged Russian collusion or not). I had previously read her hit piece on the Koch brothers and I'm surprised Congressman Schiff didn't get to share the byline.
It did provide some insights I had not seen before. Those include the intriguing involvement of Senator McCain, the somewhat shaky mental state of Mr. Steel with among other things, anxieties over a libel lawsuit against him as a result of his dossier, accusations his company helped the Russian government hack into the Democratic Party’s internal e-mail system, fears of a prison sentence for his efforts and what the article calls "the lack of response from the F.B.I." to his findings.
A new insight for me is the serious thought that Mr. Steele may actually be a sincere man who himself was thoroughly played by the Russians. After all, your article is clear that "Steele’s specialty was gathering intelligence from informed sources, many of them Russian". In that regard, your articles gives mention to the linkage of Mr. Steele to Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire Russian industrialist who has been described as Putin’s favorite oligarch and that his source for the most salacious of the Trump accusations was described as “a former top-level Russian intelligence officer still active inside the Kremlin".
I also wonder what your author meant when with such careful word choice, "He left (the British intelligence service) in good standing, but his exit was hastened". Was this a nice way to say he was fired? When she said, "… (Congressman) Nunes, in his memo, claimed that Steele was “suspended and then terminated” as a source (for the F.B.I.). In reality, the break was mutual, precipitated by Steele’s act of conscience”. Reminds me of the comedy routine where the terminated employee shouts at his boss, “You can’t fire me because I quit!”. Apparently he didn’t get two weeks’ notice, severance or his expenses reimbursed but I guess as a lovely parting gift, he gets to keep the $160K he was paid by the campaign of Mrs. Clinton. His book advance will not doubt be worth $millions though.
As an aside, I also found it amusing when she actually used the terms "nonpartisan" and "the Washington Post" in the same sentence.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether Mr. Steele’s dossier on behalf of the Democratic National Committee is true or not. If Mr. Trump unlawfully colluded with Russia or others or not. Time will tell.
As for the veracity of Mr. Steele's dossier, I would refer you the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ys-and-what-it-doesnt/?utm_term=.94f74fba37b3
While you're perusing the article above bear in mind:
• “Only documented and verified information” may be used in Department of Justice surveillance applications, according to FBI internal guidelines.
• The FBI relied on an unverified dossier of opposition research against President Donald Trump to apply for a warrant, according to House Republicans.
• “Only documented and verified information may be used to support FBI applications [FISA] to the court [FISC],” according to the guidelines.
As for a summary response to your article from the “New Yorker” I present the “Daily Caller”.
6 Revelations In That Steele Puff Piece | The Daily Caller
As a friend, I’m sure you’ll carefully read both articles before you respond. Just so you know, together they are a fraction of the article I slogged through for you by Ms. Mayer.
Have a tip top day!
