Fusion GPS Leaders: Chris Steele Hired Us First — to Find Manafort Dirt for Russian Oligarch

breitbart ^ | Joshua Caplan

[davikkm]

Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the infamous “pee dossier” on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, was first hired by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to obtain damaging information on Paul Manafort — weeks before the firm hired him to produce his now-discredited, conspiracy-weaving dossier.

The explosive admission was made by Fusion GSP co-founders Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch in the pair’s recently-released book — Crime in Progress — and highlighted in a Monday report by American Greatness.

“Weeks before Trump tapped Manafort to run his campaign, Christopher Steele had hired Fusion for help investigating Manafort,” write Fritsch and Simpson. “The matter had nothing to do with politics and was a typical commercial assignment.”

The Fusion GPS co-founders say their firm cut a nominal agreement to “research Manafort’s finances” for a client of Steele, now infamous for authoring a dossier alleging collusion between President Trump and the Kremlin.

Fritsch and Simpson contend that the retired Secret Intelligence Service MI6 agent’s client was Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Deripaska sought to determine whether Manafort had stolen money from him, according to the book.

“[Christopher Steele] did not disclose the ultimate client for the job, and Fusion didn’t press the issue,” claim the Fusion GSP co-founders.

[davikkm]

IG Report to be released on December 9th, will be a MAGAnificent day...

[rlmorel]

I don’t believe a word that comes out of any of their mouths.

For good or bad.

[Wuli]

Russian oligarch - translation, one of Putin’s crony’s.

Then collectively Steele was fed a Russian disinformation campaign, which he used to discredit Trump.

Translation: the DNC & Obama were conned by Putin’s disinformation campaign to “divide” the American electorate. They were the Putin stooges, not Trump.

[VanShuyten]

Sounds like they’re trying to gin up excuses for all those contacts they had while trying to do the deep state’s work on Pres. Trump.

Can’t wait for the IG report and Dunham’s indictments.

[Zathras]

Q: Where does an obscure Brit spy find out about Fusion GPS in the USA?
A: Hillary Clinton

[AndyJackson]

I don’t believe a word that comes out of any of their mouths

It is good testimony. Statement against interest.

[epluribus_2]

They are all SEE-EYE-YAY.

[dila813]

So they were working for Putin, Great...

[Fedora]

Between 2014 and 2016, the F.B.I. and the Justice Department unsuccessfully tried to turn Mr. Deripaska into an informant. They signaled that they might provide help with his trouble in getting visas for the United States or even explore other steps to address his legal problems. In exchange, they were hoping for information on Russian organized crime and, later, on possible Russian aid to President Trump’s 2016 campaign, according to current and former officials and associates of Mr. Deripaska. In one dramatic encounter, F.B.I. agents appeared unannounced and uninvited at a home Mr. Deripaska maintains in New York and pressed him on whether Paul Manafort, a former business partner of his who went on to become chairman of Mr. Trump’s campaign, had served as a link between the campaign and the Kremlin. The attempt to flip Mr. Deripaska was part of a broader, clandestine American effort to gauge the possibility of gaining cooperation from roughly a half-dozen of Russia’s richest men, nearly all of whom, like Mr. Deripaska, depend on President Vladimir V. Putin to maintain their wealth, the officials said. Two of the players in the effort were Bruce G. Ohr, the Justice Department official who has recently become a target of attacks by Mr. Trump, and Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled a dossier of purported links between the Trump campaign and Russia. The systematic effort to win the cooperation of the oligarchs, which has not previously been revealed, does not appear to have scored any successes. And in Mr. Deripaska’s case, he told the American investigators that he disagreed with their theories about Russian organized crime and Kremlin collusion in the campaign, a person familiar with the exchanges said. The person added that Mr. Deripaska even notified the Kremlin about the American efforts to cultivate him.: Agents Tried to Flip Russian Oligarchs. The Fallout Spread to Trump. (New York Times, 09/01/2018)

[Fedora]

A release last week of texts showed that Christopher Steele, the former British spy whose memos regarding the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia are referred to as the Steele dossier, reached out to Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, through a Russian-linked Washington, D.C., lobbyist named Adam Waldman. Among Waldman’s clients is Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a text dated March 16, 2017, Waldman texted Warner, “Chris Steele asked me to call you.” In 2009, Waldman filed papers with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registering himself as an agent for Deripaska in order to provide “legal advice on issues involving his U.S. visa as well as commercial transactions” at a retainer of $40,000 a month. In 2010, Waldman additionally registered as an agent for Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, “gathering information and providing advice and analysis as it relates to the U.S. policy towards the visa status of Oleg Deripaska,” including meetings with U.S. policymakers. Based on the information in his FARA filings, Waldman has received at least $2.36 million for his work with Deripaska.: Was Christopher Steele Paid by Russian Oligarch and Putin Ally Oleg Deripaska? (Tablet, 02/13/2018)

[Fedora]

Ping.

[Fedora]

Adam Waldman is the founder, chairman, and president of the Endeavor Group, a Washington D.C. consultancy based about two blocks from the White House. In May 2009, Waldman filed paperwork with the DOJ indicating he would be working with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska to provide "legal advice on issues involving his U.S. visa as well as commercial transactions." Waldman disclosed his pay as $40,000 a month.[1] Waldman is also a registered lobbyist for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In early 2017 Waldman represented Julian Assange of Wikileaks pro bono in negotiations with Bruce Ohr and David Laufman of the Justice Department. Assange wanted immunity and safe passage to the US to testify about alleged Russian hacking of the DNC. The immunity deal was ultimately scuttled by James Comey and Sen. Mark Warner.[2] In March 2017 Ranking Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of the Senate Intelligence Committee attempted to contact Christopher Steele through Waldman. Steele's infamous Trump-Russia dossier was then the subject of intensive Congressional inquiry. Steele responded through Waldman that he needed a bipartisan request from both Sen. Warner and Republican Chairman Sen. Richard Burr.[3] : Adam Waldman

[Fedora]

The text exchange we examined parallel to other information we have collected indicates that Waldman, a celebrity, lobbyist, foreign tycoon, and foreign dignitary attorney is discussing matters about Assange with someone at the U.S. Government (USG). Waldman in his statements infers that he is so highly regarded that he can “threaten” them with ceasing his pro-bono role as a legal mediator for Assange and the USG. That is some serious clout, but raises the question of why he contacted Senator Mark Warner, who is not the sharpest tool in the shed but one of the richest Senators in the U.S. Senate with a net worth of over $180 Mil. It’s incredible how being a public servant makes them insanely rich. . .Texts from Adam Waldman have been retrieved by authorities from 2016 and onward. In those texts, Daniel Jones, Senator Dianne Feinstein’s former Chief of Staff introduces himself as Christopher Steele’s spokesperson. . .The texts and information retrieved from Adam Waldman provided us a treasure trove of leads to get to the bottom of the Russia Dossier and who funded it. For this part of the series, we will demonstrate that the SIC letter that was sent to Christopher Steele was spearheaded and coordinated by Senator Mark Warner and that the timeline coincides with Bruce Ohr’s 302s. Reading through the texts (those that are public information and those provided to us by confidential sources), Christopher Steele was reluctant to speak to Mark Warner or anyone at the Senate without a letter from the Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) first. In the text messages below it is observed that from March 27, 2017 up until April 25, 2017 – before Dan Jones met with Senator Richard Burr (Chair of SIC) and Senator Mark Warner (Vice Chair of SIC) – Christopher Steele demanded an official letter in order to speak with them. . .Warner made it clear that he wanted to speak with Christopher Steele before the SIC sent out any letter as they wanted to avoid any paper trail. Though, with the developments of Deripaska and the leaks, Steele (according to the texts) was distrusting of the USG because the Obama holdovers were starting to be removed. . .According to our exclusive sources in the UK, Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS and XXX visited Christopher Steele on May 9, 2017 to deliver the letter from the Senate Intel Committee. Dan Jones was part of the meeting held with Steele and they discussed concerns and developments in respects to the FBI Director and his associates. . .Below, Ohr states that Steele advised him of receiving the letter from the Senate Intelligence Committee that Adam Waldman and Sen. Warner were discussing. This letter has not been made public yet. . .Adam Waldman involved himself in the most incredible attempt by an unelected branch of government to overthrow a duly elected president. He thought by acting like a pro bono intermediary for the USG and Assange he would have more clout for his clients, specifically Oleg Deripaska who was at a loss of almost $1.5 B in U.S. contracts in aluminum sales. At the time of his communication outreach to Warner, Deripaska was embroiled in a huge issue of sanctions brought against his company and found it increasingly more difficult to find resolution. Assange was a bargaining chip Waldman used, but through discussions confirmed to Warner Manafort and Deripaska had some sort of history. Warner urged Waldman to convince Deripaska to exploit his relationship with Manafort and that they would “help” with his sanction situation. In this text we observe the acknowledgement by Waldman as to how Warner “took care” of the silent treatment he had been getting from his DOJ contact on his client’s case for resolution in exchange for testimony. . .: PART I: PHONY DOSSIER SERIES| Why Is Nobody Talking About Adam Waldman?

[Fedora]

American lobbyist Adam Waldman met with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska a few days before he visited Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, The Project discovered. Deripaska has been Waldman’s client since at least 2009. According to the FARA’s list, in 2017 and the first half of 2018, Waldman’s law firm received about $780,000 for representing Deripaska’s interests in the United States. . .Assange met with Waldman, as well as with Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, The Guardian previously reported. The last meeting between Assange and Manafort, according to The Guardian, was in the spring of 2016 — a few months before Wikileaks published the Democratic Party’s hacked correspondence. Meetings with Waldman took place on January 12 and 13, 2017, shortly before Trump’s inauguration. Both Manafort and Deripaska are now objects of interest to US Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, who is investigating Russia’s alleged interference in the American presidential election. In April of this year, Deripaska came under US sanction for his ties with Russian authorities. The Project has learned that a few days before Waldman’s meeting with Assange, he spent at least one evening in the company of Deripaska. Waldman is present in a video found by The Project. The record was made by escort girl Nastya Rybka, in Austria, where she accompanied Deripaska to his parties. . .In addition to negotiations with Prikhodko on the yacht, this habit of Deripaska is confirmed by another, unpublished book of Rybka, which is at the disposal of The Project (the authenticity of the book is proved by photos and videos of the events described there, as well as by the words of Rybka’s friend). From the book, among other things, it shows that in September 2016, in the Deripaska mansion in Ust-Labinsk in Kuban, negotiations with an American guest and alleged officers of law enforcement agencies were combined with sexual orgy and feasts. Nastya Rybka and Alex Leslie (Alexander Kirillov) have been detained in Thailand for illegal labor activities. Rybka offered 16 hours of audio recordings of Deripaska’s conversations, allegedly indicating that he was going to intervene in the American elections, in exchange for political asylum in the United States, wrote The New York Times. Waldman’s lawyer did not respond to The Project’s request, nor did Waldman’s company, Endeavor Group. The Project sent a request to Deripaska’s company Rusal, but has not yet received a response.: American lobbyist Adam Waldman met with Oleg Deripaska before visiting Julian Assange in London

[Fedora]

A longtime US lobbyist for the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska visited Julian Assange nine times at the Ecuadorian embassy in London last year, according to visitor logs seen by the Guardian. Adam Waldman, who has worked as a Washington lobbyist for the metals tycoon since 2009, had more meetings with Assange in 2017 than almost anyone else, the records show. . .Waldman is a lawyer and consultant in Washington and Deripaska’s primary lobbyist. He also represents other clients including Hollywood stars. Last year Deripaska paid Waldman about $562,000. According to filings to the Department of Justice (DoJ) by Waldman’s firm, the Endeavor Group, his work for Deripaska focused on advising the oligarch’s company UC Rusal on legal issues. When Deripaska first hired him, in 2009, Waldman’s firm was on a $40,000-per-month retainer. The Russian magnate was having problems obtaining a visa because of alleged connections to organised crime, which Deripaska denies. Waldman lobbied the US government to get Deripaska a visa. . .: US lobbyist for Russian oligarch visited Julian Assange nine times last year

[Fedora]

"Prior to founding Endeavor, Mr. Waldman served as Senior Counselor to Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein at the U.S. Department of Justice. Previously, Mr. Waldman practiced law in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where he specialized in the execution of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. "Mr. Waldman sits on the boards of several privately held companies including Altor Bioscience, Dyad Pharmaceutical Corporation, Florida Beer Company and Katama Investments. He is a founding board member of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Center for Global Development, and The Heroes Project, and he serves on the board of the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation. Mr. Waldman received his Juris Doctor from the American University Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review." [1] : Adam Waldman

[Fedora]

2001- Endeavor Group Revolving Door Personnel: (1) Founder & Managing Partner . . .1999-2001 Antitrust Division Revolving Door Personnel: (52) Senior Counselor to Asst Attorney Gen. . .Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering Revolving Door Personnel: (36) Lawyer : Waldman, Adam: Employment Timeline

[Fedora]

Jump to search Joel Klein "is Chancellor of New York City Department of Education, which serves more than 1.1 million students in 1,430 schools. He has introduced a comprehensive reform program, Children First, which is raising student performance, providing more and better choices for students, and increasing autonomy and accountability for educators. Prior to his appointment as Chancellor in 2002, Klein was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bertelsmann, Inc., and Chief U.S. Liaison Officer to Bertelsmann AG. From 1997 to 2001, he was Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division where he led landmark litigation against Microsoft, WorldCom/Sprint, Visa/Mastercard, and General Electric. : Joel Klein

[rlmorel]

Yes...I know. But damn, I have become so cynical about the left I cannot even listen to them anymore.

But I do get that point...