How much did the FBI rely on a discredited Trump-Russia dossier? Barr intends to find out

The Washington Times ^ | June 2, 2019 | Rowan Scarborough

[jazusamo]

The public knows that the FBI relied extensively on the Democratic Party-financed dossier, whose list of anti-Trump allegations influenced the bureau’s overall attitude toward the candidate and eventual president.

Now, Attorney General William Barr has made it clear he wants to know more: Just how far did the discredited dossier take the FBI into the depths of a nearly three-year Trump investigation?

“What were the standards that were applied? What was the evidence?” Mr. Barr told CBS News, adding that his focus is not on the rank-and-file but on senior FBI leaders.

Dossier writer Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, was a trusted FBI paid informant before Trump-Russia. He pitched his dossier to the FBI in these terms: Donald Trump was a Russia spy, co-conspirator and financier of computer hacking. In other words, a traitor and a criminal.

“Christopher Steele influenced their attitudes,” Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, told The Washington Times. “Remember, they had a relationship with Steele. Steele was former MI6. So Steele probably biased them in some way because they had worked with Steele previously.”

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on an investigation that found no conspiracy effectively destroyed the dossier.

The dossier’s impact inside FBI headquarters is a topic of investigation by John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut. Mr. Barr has assigned him the special job of finding out how and why the FBI targeted the Trump campaign — which means a focus on the dossier.

“These counterintelligence activities that were directed at the Trump campaign were not done in the normal course and not through the normal procedures, as far as I can tell,” Mr. Barr said Friday.

The attorney general said he wants Mr. Durham to find out “what was the predicate for it,” “was everyone operating in their proper lane” and...

[ETL]

“How much did the FBI rely on a discredited Trump-Russia dossier?”

The Dems were in on it with the Russians.

Obviously the Russians would have many times over wanted Hillary to win the election. The Obama-Biden-Hillary admin handed them everything and more in such key areas as missile defense, the New Start nuke treaty, the Iran nuke and big cash deal, Uranium-One. This as they damn near decapitated our own military. It’s a no-brainer that the Russians wanted no part of Trump-Pence with their very strong-on-defense stance. Especially now as they are in the process of restoring their lost evil empire.

[ldish]

I have doubts he will be allowed to follow through...but I hope he will and can do what is right!

[a fool in paradise]

Heavily. Comeystain tried to blackmail President Trump with threats of releasing “news” about the Russian pee pee video (which insiders leaked to the press anyhow).

[Joe Bfstplk]

Going to need a lot of handcuffs.
>><<

I hope you are right. I am skeptical until I see
some action. Where are all the files supposedly
declassified?

[Dogbert41]

A foreign agent.

[Widget Jr]

It's not just the Steele Dossier, or the emails. It's the abuse of the FISA courts starting right after Obama was reelected, and the 200 SAP programs on Hillary's privately owned, unsecured server, access by a half dozen countries, that everyone is trying to ignore.

[Pollard]

I started having doubts as soon as he talked about “protecting our institutions”.

That’s the opposite of what needs to happen.

[ldish]

You are correct - like JFK was saying in 1962 or so...the CIA needs to be broken up...(my words) after the hangings, discarded and thrown into a 1000 directions...then move on to the FBI and DO(in)Justice!