[generally]

How do we know it’s a fake? Because somebody on the internet said so?

I’m not saying it’s genuine, but I haven’t seen any evidence against it other than the Michael/Christopher and MI5/MI6 mistakes. Real documents can contain mistakes, too.

[LonePalm]

Refer back to the letter here.

Consider paragraph 1.
At the request of a foreign Head of State/Government, Barack 0bama, the GCHQ (British equivalent of NSA) had been collecting intelligence on the Donald Trump campaign. This is the equivalent of Theresa May asking NSA to collect Signals Intelligence on Jeremy Corbin or Nigel Farage in the middle of Parliamentary elections.

That they did so means that it had to have been approved by Theresa May. There is no way ANY Home Secretary (Secretary of State) would approve this without the PM's knowledge and approval.

Now consider paragraph 2.
The head of GCHQ is asking the Home Secretary for permission to continue the Signals Intelligence collection. Only now it is of an incoming, allied, Head of State/ Government. Since he doesn't state otherwise Mr. Hannigan must think this is a good idea? Really? No qualms or concerns at all sir?

That the IOCCO (Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office) approved the SI collection only means that the collection is legal under BRITISH law. It doesn't mean that he thinks it is a good idea. That is a political question.

Consider paragraph 3.
Do you REALLY think that the head of a major intelligence agency would a) Out a source in a letter, b) misidentify the name of that source, and c) misidentify the origin of that source? His name is Christopher Steele and he worked for MI6 (think CIA) vice MI5 (think FBI counter intelligence).

Consider paragraph 4.
The translation here is, "We need you to spy for us because if we did it, PDJT might learn about it, and we might end up in prison."

Lastly, paragraph 5.
Again, Mr. Hannigan seems to think this is a good idea with no downside risk to Britain. REALLY?

Can you imagine an NSA Director, any director, making such a request?

Taken all together, this just screams, FAKE. Hope this helps.

WWG1WGA

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[blu]

Real documents can contain mistakes, too.

In a past life, part of my job was to make the lawyers look good. This document, with its un-words and mis-named people, would have gotten me fired had I allowed it to go for signatures and then be disseminated (that's a word, right?).

So, I call fake...especially with the hyper-paranoid atmosphere in our "intelligence" communities.

And yes, this doc would have been handed off to an assistant to type and check...the bosses think assistants are deaf and dumb...and too scared to tell the truth.