The Telegraph has published two separate articles detailing their version of when the heads of UK intelligence were briefed about a dossier of claims about President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
According to The Telegraph, the UK spy chiefs were briefed about the dossier—written by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele—before Trump was made aware of its existence by former FBI Director James Comey, but, notably, after the 2016 presidential election had taken place:
“The heads of MI5 and MI6 and one of [Prime Minister Theresa] May’s most trusted security advisers were told about former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele’s memos on the Trump campaign in the weeks after his November 2016 election victory.”
The Telegraph article goes to significant lengths to make two separate points: that UK intelligence heads were briefed on Steele’s information only after the 2016 presidential election had concluded, and that May was never directly informed of the dossier’s existence. Interestingly, the article points out that the prime minister “may have known Mr. Steele” from the UK’s inquiry into the poisoning death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, when May was home secretary.
The Telegraph also noted the involvement of Charles Farr, the former chairman of Britain’s Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). The role of the JIC is to “assess events and situations relating to external affairs, defence, terrorism [and] major international criminal activity.” The JIC is also responsible for the “liaison with Commonwealth and foreign intelligence organisations.”
The JIC’s website specifically notes that “members of the Committee are to bring to the attention of their ministers and departments, as appropriate, assessments that appear to require operational, planning or policy action.”
The Telegraph reported that Steele met with Farr on two separate occasions to inform him of the events and information contained within his dossier. The two men, both former MI6 agents, had known each other for decades. The first meeting was reported as being one week after the 2016 presidential election in mid-November 2016:
“Together, they looked at what Mr. Steele had brought—more than a dozen memos originally sent to his client, Fusion GPS, spelling out in detail the alleged Trump-Kremlin links.
“For hours, the pair worked through the information—now collectively known as the ‘Steele dossier’—line by line.
“Farr would ask questions, Mr. Steele would spell out what he knew.”
According to The Telegraph article, by the end of his first meeting with Steele, Farr had decided that the allegations within the Steele dossier “had to go up the chain of command.”
“Within days, according to well-placed sources, the allegations were shared with the most senior intelligence figures in the country,” The Telegraph reported.
“It is understood that Alex Younger, the MI6 chief, and Andrew Parker, the MI5 director general, were informed of the dossier.”
The article also referenced a second meeting with Farr in late November 2016, approximately 10 days after the alleged date of their first meeting. The two men met again for follow-up questioning and to discuss the addition of two new memos written by Steele, one of which reportedly detailed “how the Russians were allegedly trying to block Mitt Romney’s possible appointment as US secretary of state.” It was also around this time that the heads of MI6 and MI5 were allegedly briefed on the dossier.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/uk-intel-agencies-frame-spygate-involvement-ahead-of-trumps-declassification_2930221.html