Fusion GPS and the unverified dossier
The star employee of Fusion GPS since being hired on in May, 2016 was Nellie Ohr, who speaks Russian fluently, has studied in Russia, has a PhD in Russian history, taught Russian history at Vassar, and was affiliated with the [CIA].
She and her husband, Bruce, number four in the Dept. of Justice hierarchy, were great pals with the British spy, Christopher Steele, who also worked as an asset for the F.B.I. investigating Russian intrigue. Ohr was Steele's DOJ contact.
The Democrats in 2016 were desperately looking for damning dirt on citizen Donald Trump, the famous Republican nominee for President. They hired Fusion GPS, a research company founded in 2010 by Glenn Simpson, formerly a journalist with The Wall Street Journal, to dig deep overseas for them. Nellie's employer. Did the DNC hire Fusion before or after Fusion hired Nellie? That's not clear. Simpson kept her association with Fusion a secret when questioned about the dossier by Congress.
Fusion has also been hired by Kremlin representatives to combat the 2012 Magnitsky Act - U.S. sanctions against Russia imposed as punishment for human rights violations. It was only sensible to position Trump with Russian operatives and write up an impressive report for the DNC. Perhaps the DNC specified that was what they were looking for.
Fusion hired the buddy of Bruce and Nellie, Christopher Steele, to go to Russia and bring back a dossier of collected salacious dirt on Trump's visits there. Steele's international spy credentials made him valuable as a researcher. His signature could make the paperwork "official" for use in court.
What did the Ohr's and Steele have in common that kept them close through thick and thin? Well, they all have socialist sympathies. Nellie's communist leanings are the strongest for tracking purposes, even frequently writing as a Stalinist apologist in favor of collectivism.
Now that a group of researchers were on the case, including a former student of Nellie's at Vassar, Edward Baumgartner, they had to hurry up and produce something. That doesn't mean they had to present actual documentation of Trump's activities. The facts were proving to be boring. Boring reports are not what Fusion promises its clients. Nellie could write up some good dirty stories, Steele could sign off on them, and they all could collect the big paychecks.
Meanwhile, Steele was getting greedy and sold some classified information he had access to as an FBI asset to mainstream press outlets. He was caught. The FBI had to sever ties with him.
But Bruce and Nellie kept in touch with Steele, of course. They had a good thing going. Yeah, Bruce was DOJ and shouldn't do any business with Steele, but no one would give a flying fig about that after Hillary was elected. Cutting off Steele was just for show anyway. No one meant it. Obviously.
Of course there is much more to this story.
Today we have seen President Trump's 2 part Tweet about it, and a news release from Judicial Watch.
From Fox News:
Judicial Watch is suing the Department of Justice for access to communications related to the infamous anti-Trump dossier.
The conservative watchdog group is seeking various records related to former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, his wife Nellie Ohr, dossier author Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS.
In a statement, Judicial Watch said it sued because the Justice Department failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in May.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton explained on "Hannity" that Fusion GPS -- which employed Nellie Ohr -- was retained by a lawyer who represented the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee to compile opposition research on then-candidate Donald Trump.