Boelter pleads guilty in lawmaker attacks, agrees to two life sentences

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 says during the 2016 campaign it first hired the firm that later produced a dossier of unsubstantiated information about Donald Trump's Russia ties.


The political research firm, Fusion GPS, commissioned former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who went on to produce what's been called the "Steele dossier." 


The dossier "describes a concerted effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to cultivate a relationship with Trump and his camp," 

. "The document, which describes information provided by Russian government and other sources, details behavior by Trump that could leave him open to blackmail, as well as alleged secret meetings between Trump aides and Russian officials called to discuss the campaign against Clinton and potential new business relationships."
But in a statement posted Friday evening, the 

 had no knowledge of or connection to the Steele dossier, did not pay for the dossier, and never had contact with, knowledge of, or provided payment for any work performed by Christopher Steele," wrote the site's Editor in Chief Matthew Continetti and Chairman Michael Goldfarb.

President Trump has denied the claims made in the dossier. "It is now commonly agreed, after many months of COSTLY looking, that there was NO collusion between Russia and Trump. Was collusion with [Hillary Clinton]!" Trump 

Continetti and Goldfarb wrote that they hired the political research firm Fusion GPS "to provide research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton.


"All of the work that Fusion GPS provided to the 

 was based on public sources, and none of the work product that the 

 received appears in the Steele dossier," they added.
Earlier this week 

 that after initially being hired by Trump's Republican primary opponents, Fusion GPS continued its work, but for Democrats.


Lawyer Marc Elias, who represented Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, hired the firm in April 2016 to conduct opposition research, according to the newspaper. The "Clinton campaign and the DNC, through the law firm, continued to fund Fusion GPS's research through the end of October 2016, days before Election Day."

News reports have supported "one aspect of the dossier — Trump loyalists did have contacts with Russians during the campaign," NPR's Ryan Lucas says.


Continetti and Goldfarb say people representing the 

 offered on Friday to provide the House Intelligence Committee with answers to questions it may have surrounding Fusion GPS and the Steele dossier. The House committee is conducting one of multiple investigations into Russian influence in the 2016 election.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


A previous photo caption incorrectly said Andrews Air Force base is in Arlington, Va. It is in Prince George's County, Md.

Politics and Government News

The Washington Free Beacon says it first hired Fusion GPS, which later produced a dossier of unsubstantiated claims about Donald Trump's Russia ties. The site says it has no connection to the dossier.

Conservative website initially hired firm that later produced Trump dossier

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