Report: FBI admits they can’t verify dossier claims of Russian collusion

Report: FBI admits they can’t verify dossier claims of Russian collusion

December 27, 2017


Lima Junior / Shutterstock.com; Gage Skidmore / CCL

The FBI still cannot verify the infamous Russia dossier more than a year after receiving it, President Donald Trump announced yesterday. Apparently referring to a Fox and Friends discussion of a report from the Washington Times, the president tweeted:
WOW, @foxandfrlends “Dossier is bogus. Clinton Campaign, DNC funded Dossier. FBI CANNOT (after all of this time) VERIFY CLAIMS IN DOSSIER OF RUSSIA/TRUMP COLLUSION. FBI TAINTED.” And they used this Crooked Hillary pile of garbage as the basis for going after the Trump Campaign!
FBI admits dossier still unverified
The FBI admits it can’t verify the claims made in the so-called “Russian dossier,” which it partially relied on to launch its investigation that the Donald Trump campaign may have colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election, according to the Times report.

The Times reports, “Sources familiar with House and Senate investigations say this is the FBI’s dossier talking point 17 months after agents were first briefed in July 2016 as Donald Trump battled Hillary Clinton for the White House.”
How soon before special counsel Robert Mueller sees the light and throws in the towel?
Reversal of scandal
The bureau launched its probe in July 2016 in response to largely discredited claims made in a dossier prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. The Russian dossier was jointly commissioned by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign, which should have made it suspect from the start.

After eight hours of interrogation by House Intelligence Committee members, embattled FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe admitted the dossier was “largely unverified,” but still refused to condemn it, according to a source. The Times reported:
Sources speculated to The Washington Times that it would be embarrassing for Mr. McCabe to condemn a political opposition research paper on which his agents based decisions to open a counterintelligence investigation and interview witnesses. Some press reports said the FBI cited the dossier’s information in requests for court-approved wiretaps.
McCabe reportedly plans to retire from the bureau when he becomes eligible for full retirement benefits early next year.

Clinton probe tainted
DOJ Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz is investigating McCabe for his failure to recuse himself from his role during the FBI’s probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct official State Department business.
McCabe’s wife was at that time a Democratic candidate for the Virginia state Senate and had received approximately $700,000 in contributions from Clinton cronies. The Times reported:
Mr. Horowitz announced the investigation shortly before Mr. Trump took office. Since then, his probe has widened into whether the FBI investigation into suspected Trump-Russia collusion is rigged.
Problems within Mueller team
It’s not just evidence of McCabe’s pro-Clinton sentiments — it’s also sentiments coming from members of Mueller’s team that is causing concern. Chief among them is Peter Strzok, a senior FBI counterintelligence expert Mueller fired from his team after the discovery of numerous text messages between Strzok and an FBI lawyer that praised Clinton and eviscerated Trump.