Report footnotes show FBI knew Russians had early knowledge of Steele material

Newly declassified footnotes from a government report, first obtained by CBS News, show that despite multiple warnings about Russian targeting and the potential for disinformation, the FBI relied on the controversial Steele dossier to secure surveillance warrants for a Trump campaign aide before and after the 2016 election.

Among the revelations, a 2017 U.S. intelligence community report indicated that two individuals "affiliated" with Russian intelligence knew of former British spy Christopher Steele's "election investigation" in early July 2016, three months before the FBI would begin citing the dossier.

"..[A]n early June 2017 USIC (US Intelligence Community) report indicated that two persons affiliated with RIS (Russian Intelligence Services) were aware of Steele's election investigation in early July 2016," the footnote said. "The Supervisory Intel Analyst told us he was aware of these reports, but that he had no information as of June 2017 that Steele's election reporting source network had been penetrated or compromised."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-footnotes-show-fbi-knew-russians-had-early-knowledge-of-steele-material/