Christopher Steele Was Reportedly ‘Flabbergasted’ By ‘BuzzFeed’ Publishing Dossier
Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the FBI‘s investigation into President Donald Trump‘s 2016 campaign revealed that former British spy Christopher Steele’s dossier was used in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court to obtain a wiretap warrant. The controversial file was deemed to have “potentially serious problems” by the FBI as early as January 2017, which is the same month that John McCain staffer David J. Kramer allegedly brought the Steele dossier to BuzzFeed News. It was published on January 10 of the same year.
On page 176 of the IG report, a footnote reveals that Steele is reported to have spoken about the BuzzFeed story and McCain staffer, Breitbart reports.
“Steele testified in foreign litigation that he did not provide his reports to journalists or media organizations and did not authorize anyone to share them,” the report stated.
According to the report, Steele requested that Kramer meet with BuzzFeed, although he did not ask or prohibit Kramer from sharing the stories. However, the staff member said that Steele was aware that he was providing the report to The Washington Post.
“Steele told the OIG [Office of the Inspector General] that he trusted the staff member to handle his reports discretely and that the staff member betrayed that trust,” the report stated. “Steele explained that the staff member had spent his career handling sensitive intelligence.”
“Steele also said he understood from a former Ambassador that Senator McCain requested that Steele trust the staff member. Steele said he was ‘absolutely flabbergasted’ when BuzzFeed published his election reports.”
#FISA national security court “the FBI’s handling of the Carter Page applications, as portrayed in the (IG Horowitz) report, was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor…”#footnotesmatter Steele dossier corroboration exaggerated, exculpatory info Page, altered CIA email pic.twitter.com/lv9lSgeP0V
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 18, 2019
As The Inquisitr previously reported, McCain allegedly funneled five new claims from Steele to former FBI Director James Comey. The allegations surfaced after the FBI dropped Steele as a source, although it’s unclear if the late Senator was aware of this when he delivered the new information to the bureau.
Regardless, Trump — who has, on many occasions, accused the FBI of spying on his campaign — used the revelation to take a shot at McCain on Twitter. The pair frequently sparred while McCain was alive, and the president has not stopped expressing his dislike for the former Republican presidential candidate.
In his book, The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations, McCain appeared to have a similar dislike of Trump, noting that he didn’t regret his decision to pass on Steele’s report to Comey. McCain described how he came across the dossier via British diplomat Sir Andrew Wood through a conversation that McCain appeared to believe indicated the mater was of grave importance, noting the “intensity” of the interaction.
