Trump sues former British spy behind controversial Russia dossier
- 7 months ago
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News Article :-
Former President Donald Trump is suing retired British intelligence officer Christopher Steele over the controversial dossier he compiled which shook Washington with its unverified and salacious allegations about Trump.
The lawsuit – which brings a data protection claim against Steele and his business, Orbis Business Intelligence – is the latest twist in the dossier saga since it became public in January 2017, days before Trump took office.
The central allegations, that Trump conspired with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election and that Russia had compromising information on him, were given a veneer of credibility by many because they originated from Steele, who had a solid reputation.
But over the years, the credibility of the dossier has significantly diminished. A series of US government investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of its central allegations and exposed the unreliability of Steele’s sources.
Trump has repeatedly denied the claims Steele put forward, and the former president’s UK legal team is asking that the “inaccurate data contained within the Steele Dossier be erased or rectified together with the payment of damages,” Tim Lowles, a lawyer for Trump in the UK, told CNN last month.
The former president’s legal action is set to start on October 16 with a two-day hearing into the claim at London’s High Court, according to court documents. Trump is not expected to attend the hearing, according to a source familiar with his plans.
CNN has reached out to Orbis Business Intelligence for comment.
Trump’s new lawsuit comes several months after special counsel John Durham wrapped up his criminal inquiry into potential wrongdoing in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.
Durham further exposed problems with Steele’s handiwork and the material in his dossier. However, Durham’s criminal case against Steele’s primary sub-source ended in an acquittal last year.
That sub-source, Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, told US investigators that the information he passed onto Steele was mostly “hearsay,” “just talk,” “word of mouth,” and came from “conversations he had with friends over beers,” according to Justice Department reports. Danchenko also said Steele puffed up the memos and leaned too hard into the raw information he received.
Steele, meanwhile, has always maintained that his claims was unverified, required further investigation and were not meant for public disclosure. “I stand by the work we did, the sources that we had, and the professionalism which we applied to it,” Steele said in 2021 in his first TV interview about the dossier.
Multiple US government inquiries uncovered dozens of contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russians, which have since been acknowledged. Trump himself and his closest advisers even welcomed the Kremlin’s interference in the election. Still, none of it added up to the collusion suggested in Steele’s me
News Article :-
Former President Donald Trump is suing retired British intelligence officer Christopher Steele over the controversial dossier he compiled which shook Washington with its unverified and salacious allegations about Trump.
The lawsuit – which brings a data protection claim against Steele and his business, Orbis Business Intelligence – is the latest twist in the dossier saga since it became public in January 2017, days before Trump took office.
The central allegations, that Trump conspired with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election and that Russia had compromising information on him, were given a veneer of credibility by many because they originated from Steele, who had a solid reputation.
But over the years, the credibility of the dossier has significantly diminished. A series of US government investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of its central allegations and exposed the unreliability of Steele’s sources.
Trump has repeatedly denied the claims Steele put forward, and the former president’s UK legal team is asking that the “inaccurate data contained within the Steele Dossier be erased or rectified together with the payment of damages,” Tim Lowles, a lawyer for Trump in the UK, told CNN last month.
The former president’s legal action is set to start on October 16 with a two-day hearing into the claim at London’s High Court, according to court documents. Trump is not expected to attend the hearing, according to a source familiar with his plans.
CNN has reached out to Orbis Business Intelligence for comment.
Trump’s new lawsuit comes several months after special counsel John Durham wrapped up his criminal inquiry into potential wrongdoing in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.
Durham further exposed problems with Steele’s handiwork and the material in his dossier. However, Durham’s criminal case against Steele’s primary sub-source ended in an acquittal last year.
That sub-source, Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, told US investigators that the information he passed onto Steele was mostly “hearsay,” “just talk,” “word of mouth,” and came from “conversations he had with friends over beers,” according to Justice Department reports. Danchenko also said Steele puffed up the memos and leaned too hard into the raw information he received.
Steele, meanwhile, has always maintained that his claims was unverified, required further investigation and were not meant for public disclosure. “I stand by the work we did, the sources that we had, and the professionalism which we applied to it,” Steele said in 2021 in his first TV interview about the dossier.
Multiple US government inquiries uncovered dozens of contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russians, which have since been acknowledged. Trump himself and his closest advisers even welcomed the Kremlin’s interference in the election. Still, none of it added up to the collusion suggested in Steele’s me