It’s been a while since I read it and I didn’t remember all the stuff about Cohen. I remember mention of Carter Page and Manafort and thought there was more about Manafort because the man really is sketchy as heck.
Regarding Trump they said that he refused any sweetener deals and that he participated in a bunch of sex parties that nobody can verify, and that he did the infamous “golden showers” destruction of a bed Obama had slept in, which just sounds gross.
What was proved about the activities of the Russians I believe is that they were trying to sow division between groups of voters by funding fringe elements like pretending to be BLM organizers while also organizing counter-protests. This as opposed to the dossier which states that the Russians caused the hawks and people to hate the elites. We are having a major labor disruption and that is going to do the same thing between labor and management that the last one did. Duh.
Trying to sow trans-Atlantic division, well there is that going on but didn’t the Europeans come out strongly against Trump? Are the Russians funding all of those protests? Did the Europeans refuse for years to live up to their NATO obligations? Will they be stronger if they do? Has the Russian gas pipeline been of concern for years? Trump didn’t pull out of NATO, and he has taken quite a lot of abuse. He kicked out a ton of Russian embassy staff and kicked them out of the one on the Left coast which seemed to be causing problems.
Cohen is a question because his lawyer has been making a lot of noise, and I did not see that before.
That said, after everything that Trump has been through I can’t imagine what of a sexual nature he could be blackmailed by the Russians for. He isn’t alleged to have sweetheart deals. If they turn Cohen, maybe, but Cohen has ties to Russian real estate through his wife, and Trump isn’t alleged to have taken any deals.
They did of course get a bunch of Russian military for hacking the DNC.
A very minor mention (two paragraphs) that seems to have received all the attention and the only part that Comey briefed Trump on.
That said, after everything that Trump has been through I can’t imagine what of a sexual nature he could be blackmailed by the Russians for. He isn’t alleged to have sweetheart deals. If they turn Cohen, maybe, but Cohen has ties to Russian real estate through his wife, and Trump isn’t alleged to have taken any deals.
I suggest you reread the dossier. Mueller is placing major pressure on Manafort to divulge what is alleged in the dossier. Cohen is also being heavily pressured because of the key role he allegedly played in coordinating with the Kremlin. If they are able to prove some of these allegations, then the dossier becomes a valid basis for the FISA warrant and surveillance of the Trump campaign and transition teams.
My point is that Mueller is heavily invested in proving that the dossier is true. The Dossier is a human intelligence document or [HUMINT] and therefore should be viewed not as evidence in a trial, but as a road map for investigators. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the source of the information in the dossier comes from FBI and CIA files to frame Trump. Nellie Ohr was passing information to Steele who then incorporated it into the dossier rather than the other way around. This was an elaborate plot cooked up by the DNC using the FBI and CIA.
If I were the Reps in Congress, I would devote considerable effort to disprove the allegations contained in the dossier, rather than just pass them off as unverified and salacious.