The Democratic National Committee’s Russia collusion law suit against the Trump campaign cites a number of press stories, tweets and investigative reports as evidence, but there is one notable absence.
The 66-page suit doesn’t mention the Christopher Steele dossier, an investigation financed by the very same DNC as well as the Hilary Clinton campaign and sourced to Kremlin operatives.
Just like the DNC law suit, Mr. Steele’s 35 pages is filled with allegations of collusion against President Trump and his aides.
Conservatives say the dossier is evidence of election collusion, not with Republicans, but between Democrats and Moscow.
Many liberals and Democrats, such as Rep. Adam Schiff of California, have embraced Mr. Steele and the dossier as true. The liberal press has also vouched for Mr. Steele.
Mr. Steele’s charges were circulated in Washington by Fusion GPS, Mr. Steele’s paymaster. At least two news stories appeared based on his allegations before the Nov. 8 election. The Clinton campaign also spread dossier information.
Once the dossier was posted by BuzzFeed on Jan. 10, 2017, its accusations of an “extensive conspiracy” between the Trump campaign and Russia become liberal talking points.
The FBI used the dossier to acquire a court-approved surveillance warrant on Trump volunteer Carter Page. It has also relied on the charges as a guide in questioning witnesses.
But in its headline-grabbing law suit filed on Friday in U.S. District Court in New York, the DNC ignores Mr. Steele’s work. The suit’s lengthy list of footnotes, many of them mainstream media stories, does not include the dossier.
A review by The Washington Times, and a word search, didn’t find any mention of the Steele dossier.
Messages sent to the DNC’s law firm, CohenMilstein, were not returned.
Republicans deride the dossier as a collection of fiction. The Republican majority on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence concluded last month there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to interfere in the election by computer hacking or bogus social media.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has informed President Trump he is not a target.
The DNC’s allegations against Mr. Trump and his team revolve around known events, such as Donald Trump Jr. meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016. The lawyer promised dirt on Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Trump Jr. said she had no information and was there to lobby against Russian sanctions.
The suit also cites candidate Trump’s promotion of Wikileaks downloads of DNC emails which the intelligence community says were stolen by Russian intelligence units.
The DNC also points to Mr. Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign.
It notes the fact that Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s brief campaign manager, made huge sums as a consultant to a pro-Putin Ukraine politician. One of Mr. Manafort’s employees in the Ukraine has ties to Russian intelligence.
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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