Posted on 01/14/2018 3:00:23 PM PST by Strac6
During his testimony before Congress in August, Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson said that the FBI had a source inside the Trump campaign who gave credence to the infamous dossier the company created for the Democrats.
He repeated the claim in a New York Times op-ed on January 2.
But today, Fusion GPS is retracting that statement, saying that Simpson "mischaracterized" the source.
Washington Times:
Then suddenly, as quick as the headlines went up, some one close to Fusion was waving off reporters. Mr. Simpsonhad “mischaracterized” the source. It was not some one on the Trump inside, but apparently an Australian diplomat
He was featured in a Dec. 30 New York Times story as the source who tipped off the FBI. Campaign volunteer George Papadopoulos told him over drinks that a Russian-linked professor knew of “thousands” of Hillary Clinton emails in the hands of Moscow.
How Mr. Simpson knew of the diplomat last August was unclear. He would have known of him in January when he wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which he again told of an insider source.
“As we told the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, our sources said the dossier was taken so seriously because it corroborated reports the bureau had received from other sources, including one inside the Trump camp,” he wrote.
Moments after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, unilaterally released the transcript, the inside-source story spread, especially in London. The city is home base of Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy who wrote the dossier.
In his testimony, Mr. Simpson told of Mr. Steele’s meeting with FBI agents in Rome in September 2016. Mr. Steele told Mother Jones magazine he was trying to jump-start an investigation into President Trump.
Mr. Simpson testified, “Essentially what he told me was they had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source and that — that they — my understanding was that they believed Chris at this point — that they believed Chris’s information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization.”
Simpson did not "mischaracterize" anything in his testimony or his Times op-ed. He stated flatly that the FBI told him they thought the information in the dossier was credible because they had a source in the Trump campaign.
It's impossible to overstate the damage done by Simpson's lies. They can "retract" anything they want, but the fact that they didn't do it for two weeks after the Times op-ed appeared and several days after the actual testimony was leaked by Feinstein shows that their narrative about the dossier is unraveling. The media made a huge deal of the FBI source who, they say, validated what was in the dossier. Now we know there was no FBI source at all -- just an Australian diplomat who spoke to a drunk Trump operative.
Needless to say, Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley was not pleased with the retraction:
The story corrections correction caught the eye of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, Iowa Republican, who on Thursday sent off a letter to Fusion attorney Joshua Levy. Mr. Grassley demanded to know why Mr. Levy did not correct the record after spending hours reviewing the transcript in October and November or contact the committee last Tuesday.” If it is true that your client’s statement to the Committee was a mischaracterization, why did you not attempt to correct your client’s statement as soon as you and/or he realized it was not accurate?” the senator wrote. Mr. Levy did not return a message seeking comment.
I don't think this was a question of mischaracterization. You were either told the FBI had a source in the Trump campaign or you weren't. Simpson said there was, but was obviously not told that, making his statement a lie under oath.
Grassley may be mad enough to look for a perjury vote. But the damage has been done. Those who wished to advance the collusion narrative got their ammunition while the truth was still putting on its boots.
“...he has done nothing to lead the country...”? Dude, just what are you smokin’ or drinkin’???
Feinstein leaks testimony, everyone gets together and reviews it, creates stories that sync up, and decide which parts need to be retracted. Swamp protection plan implemented, damage contained.
Oh, let me tell ya’! They LOVED to be opinionated on our politics when I lived there. I expressed the UK should withdraw from NATO. Then met with utter silence. They want OUR blood and treasure. Not THEIRS.
Threatened much? Perhaps he knows exactly who was murdered in the Fusion GPS plot, and he doesn’t want to be next.
I had this conversation on a biz trip recently with a US international business type who told me how disapproving “everybody” in major foreign countries were of the election of Trump. I heard the same crap about Reagan in the early 1980s, and it was always from some goof in a country like Denmark that spent almost nothing on its own defense or NATO and provided near full, thankless reliance on our military and spending. He was a bit shocked when I responded that I don’t give a s—t what foreign nationals think of our leaders or politics, and I could give a s—t who they elect in their home countries. I pointed out the recent United Nations vote condemning the US on our “unilateral” move of our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, authorized by our Congress 20 years ago, where we had all of NINE member countries side with us which included a few Pacific island nations under our funding, Guatemala and Israel. Teresa May’s UK voted against us; when the chips are down, they throw more at us.
I agree, its Trump Non-leadership in Firing Sessions and appointing a real Cop, that is dragging the country through this crap.
I don't get that out of it at all. The whole dossier thing is imploding faster and faster. The new claims and revelations fizzle almost immediately. I think the only way to deal with a conspiracy this vast and silly is to bleed it to death in just this way: Ask a simple question using concepts like "under oath" and watch the retractions start--revealing the network piece by piece, in public.
At the same time, each new claim by the "investigator" team has less news "pop" and shelf life with each turn of the cycle. As that happens, Mueller's boys and girls get closer to getting in real trouble themselves, since they become too boring and non-credible to be untouchable for their lies and crimes. It does take time, and it is tedious, but the tumor is large.
I agree; I think it would be a disaster were Trump to fire Mueller. They are self-destructing, more will be coming out this week from the DOJ documents, let them stew in their own juices.
Maybe a call from the Jerky Brothers.
Simpson: I’m lying both times and at all times. I didn’t chop down the cherry tree. George did it.
Good for you! Screw ‘em! We have some lovely, patriotic Brits on this forum....so that doesn’t apply to them, BTW.
Now that Feinstein gave everyone their talking points, there was no point in remembering what actually happened. Everyone has the same story and his remember/not remember goes into the memory hole.
...Mr. Simpson had “mischaracterized” the source...
Doh!
“mis-characterize” is better than a “slight verbal faux-pas.”
I had the same experiences overseas, until Reagan blew away our enemies, and then he was a “Great Man.”
Problem is, Trump keeps giving his enemies the verbal ammunition to attack him with that so outweighs his real achievements.
He either stops the month now, or 1 year from today, he is impeached (but not removed) by a 240 Dem seat House.
I hope they get buried in the hole they are digging.
Well said!
Teresa May is a disgrace to the UK, as are all her government members.
She will go down in history as one of our worst ever PM’s and recently that title has a lot of competition.
The next ten days should be interesting...
p
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