Hillary Clinton’s former spokesman defended her presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the wake of a report that they helped pay for the controversial dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday night, Brian Fallon said if the dossier ends up contributing to the Russia probe being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller, it will have been “money well spent.”
I regret I didnt know about Christopher Steele’s hiring pre-election. If I had, I would have volunteered to go to Europe and try to help him
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 25, 2017
If I’d gotten his dossier before Nov 8, I may have tried to convince Mook & Podesta to let me hold a Comey-style press conference to read it
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 25, 2017
I have no idea what Fusion or Steele were paid but if even a shred of that dossier ends up helping Mueller, it will prove money well spent
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 25, 2017
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS to investigate Mr. Trump in April 2016. The private research firm reportedly hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy with ties to the FBI, to conduct the opposition research. The Clinton campaign and the DNC funded the effort until the end of October 2016, just days before the election.
Mr. Steele would go on to share his findings with the FBI when the bureau began investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow. He was reportedly interviewed by Mr. Mueller over the summer.
The 35-page dossier, which was published in its entirety by BuzzFeed News in January, contains salacious, unverified claims about Mr. Trump.
Before the Clinton campaign and the DNC stepped in, Fusion GPS received funding from a still-unknown Republican donor.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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