Posted on 10/29/2017 4:16:30 PM PDT by Eddie01
A news website funded by hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer says it contracted the firm to research 'multiple candidates'
Matthew Continetti, the editor of the neoconservative website Washington Free Beacon, wrote in a letter posted online just after 7 p.m. on Friday that the Free Beacon hired Fusion GPS during the Republican primary to do research on Republican candidates. That research kicked off what became known as the “dossier” used to smear Donald Trump.
The Washington Free Beacon is funded by New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who backed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Republican primary, and was vigorously opposed to Donald Trump.
Continetti is the 36-year-old editor-in-chief. He started the website with Michael Goldfarb after marrying the daughter of Never-Trumper Bill Kristol. Goldfarb previously worked for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
The letter signed by Continetti starts off by saying that the Free Beacon has regularly retained "third-party firms" to conduct research since its founding in 2012 — a declaration that most people working in journalism would find odd, even bewildering, given that research is at the core of what journalists do and so is not normally contracted out, and given the cost of such outsourcing. Fusion GPS was reportedly paid $9 million for the opposition research on Trump that it produced in the general election for the DNC and the Clinton campaign.
"Since its launch in February of 2012, the Washington Free Beacon has retained third-party firms to conduct research on many individuals and institutions of interest to us and our readers. In that capacity, during the 2016 election cycle we retained Fusion GPS to provide research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton. All of the work that Fusion GPS provided to the Free Beacon was based on public sources, and none of the work product that the Free Beacon received appears in the Steele dossier. The Free Beacon had no knowledge of or connection to the Steele dossier, did not pay for the dossier, and never had contact with, knowledge of, or provided payment for any work performed by Christopher Steele. Nor did we have any knowledge of the relationship between Fusion GPS and the Democratic National Committee, Perkins Coie, and the Clinton campaign."
Continetti goes on to write that representatives of the Free Beacon contacted the House Intelligence Committee on Friday and offered to answer questions about Fusion GPS, a controversial firm founded by three former employees of the Wall Street Journal.
"They get paid to destroy people," Venezuelan human rights activist Thor Halvorssen said on "Fox & Friends" this week, referring to his personal experience with the firm when he tried to expose corruption in U.S. companies operating in Venezuela.
Continetti ended the letter by defending the hiring of Fusion GPS.
"But to be clear: We stand by our reporting, and we do not apologize for our methods," he wrote. "We consider it our duty to report verifiable information, not falsehoods or slander, and we believe that commitment has been well demonstrated by the quality of the journalism that we produce. The First Amendment guarantees our right to engage in news-gathering as we see fit, and we intend to continue doing just that as we have since the day we launched this project."
Roger Stone: Marco Rubio Donor Paid Fusion GPS in Primary
Longtime GOP operative and friend of the president says Paul Singer was the 'money man' responsible for the dossier's origins.
Legendary political operative Roger Stone reported on Wednesday that it was Singer who had paid for the dossier, though he did not mention the Washington Free Beacon or Continetti.
Singer and his company, Elliott Management Corp., contributed more than $5 million to the presidential campaign of Marco Rubio in 2016. But when contacted by LifeZette on Friday morning, Rubio's Washington office said the senator and his staff do not know who had paid for Fusion GPS' work during the primary campaign.
In the general election, Fusion GPS subcontracted with a firm run by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, to research Trump's connections to Russia. This research resulted in the "Steele dossier" — a collection of memos that contain many unverified claims. Steele did not travel to Russia himself, but obtained the information third- or fourth-hand, working from an office in the United Kingdom.
His replacement, Stephen Hayes, is not much better.
Dingdong nut Rick Wilson can’t too far.
I deleted my WFB bookmark the moment I read the story.
Bill Kristol has become a vicious buffoon, like other NeverTrumpers. They just CANNOT get over Trump winning the election. They all act like children, except that they are adults who can do a lot of damage. And THAT is their goal -— if they can’t get rid of him, they’re going to do EVERYTHING they can to make things hard or slow or overly complicated for him. But, of course, their main goal is to get rid of him; they are DESPICABLE!
bookmark
His replacement, Stephen Hayes, is not much better.
He’s no better and often times you couldn’t tell him from a Democrat when he is speaking on TV.
notice how the left is bandying this about as the new term for collaborating with foreign agents to interfere with the election and undermine the Republic.
The Washington Free Beacon is funded by New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who backed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Republican primary, and was vigorously opposed to Donald Trump.
Continetti is the 36-year-old editor-in-chief. He started the website with Michael Goldfarb after marrying the daughter of Never-Trumper Bill Kristol. Goldfarb previously worked for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
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The McCain connection is now clear. McCain didn’t just accidentally hear about the dossier. Goldfarb better told him.
Thank you
Bill Kristol is now history as a conservative. Neocon= Democrat.
I sure hope so!!!
He was finished a while back......Even says so himself in this Feb. interview.
Never forget this interview when he said the middle class is lazy decadent, spoiled...need to be replaced every few generations...Watch as he accuses others of being decadent and lazy, yet his shirt barely buttons around his fat belly and his pudgy hands have never done a day’s worth of honest work...denigrates middle class for clipping coupons, trying to hang on and says they don’t want their children to succeed?!?! So we need new immigrants??? Unbelievable!!!
Video:
Bill Kristol: White Working Class Should Be Replaced by Immigrants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWJSKhEwjy8
The video, 1:08 is worth the time to see and hear this arrogant Swampdweller say this in his own words!
Short Video summary: In a conversation with Charles Murray, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol explains his solution to the problems of the white working class: replacement. “Look, to be totally honest, if things are so bad as you say with the white working class, don’t you want to get new Americans in?” After making the remark, Dr. Kristol joked, “I hope this thing isn’t being videotaped or ever shown anywhere. Whatever tiny, pathetic future I have is going to totally collapse.”
Poor dear...she looks just like her dad.
Reminds me of Chelsea Clinton, in several ways.
#45. Leave Kristol’s daughter out of this. She had nothing to do with anything we are discussing. Don’t know the guy she married. That was her choice.
Once heard Bill Kristol speak and thought he sounded a little strange for a conservative but considering he was on the same panel with Lawrence Korb (talk about a turncoat), I put it in the back of my mind. Now he’s gone off track and I don’t pay any attention to him anymore.
His father, Irving Kristol, was a real “thinker” and I admired him for that whether I agreed with his views or not.
Ron Paul is not popular around here, but about 15 years ago he gave a speech, IIRC titled “neo-conned”, which was panned by most conservatives at the time.
Read it today and one can see that he pretty much nailed the history and belief system.
One tactic of neocons is to label anyone who uses the word “neocon” as anti-Semitic. This is about as ludicrous of a smear as referring to someone who uses the term “libertarian” as anti-Semitic...after all, the greats of the liberty movement include some brilliant and well-known Jewish thinkers: Rothbard and von Mises.
Question... I remember that the female Russian attorney that visited young Trump prior to the election was working for Fusion. Was she also being paid for by Hillary?
This is no requirement that one be holy to post.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oh yes there is. Look it up in the Free Republic catechism , chiselled on Stone Tablets by the great profit, Pope Lazamataz the 1st.
To post properly, one must take refuge in the Blather, The Bun, and the Holy Boast! (These are the three Bs of the Free Republic Trinity.)
Holy cow!
Might explain why Bill seems to have taken a header over the last year or so and been doubling down on stupid....
Was Liz Chaney, Bill Kristol’s com padre, aware of what was going on? Shine on, Harvest Moon.
Oh how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. The Communist Party's roots are tapped into all pieces of America and will continue to destroy us from within until our Nation has a cleansing.
This Uranium scandal may just be the down fall of the Red party in America. Such an in your face deal so blatantly conceived and pulled off while our highest branch of Government watched may provide the soap to scrub them from America. Let us hope that Trump will remove the conspirator from the DOJ, Ears Sessions, and put in someone true to America to do the cleaning.
That is right, they are nothing more than Red blooded Communists embedded in America to bring it down from withing. Some on the right and some on the left. Some people think all of the enemies are on the left....look at McCain. He was turned while in Vietnam and now that he is seeing the fire at the end of the tunnel, he is pulling out all the Communist stops.
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