Trump’s defense in the Russia scandal crashed and burned Christopher Steele had a previous relationship with the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
ABC News reported:
The prior relationship came to light as investigators with the DOJ IG’s office was looking into allegations of political bias at the origins of the Russia investigation since May 2018.
The report, which was released publicly today, briefly references these past dealings. In his discussion with investigators from the inspector general’s office, Steele cited his past cordial relationship with Ivanka Trump as reason to believe that he was not biased against her.
“If anything he was ‘favorably predisposed’ towards the Trump family before he began his research,†he told the investigators, the report says.
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Here is the section of the IG report:
Breaking: Dossier author Chris Steele had a meeting at Trump Tower, and maintains he was not biased against President Trump and in fact maintained a close friendship with a family member and was, if anything, “favourably disposed†to the Trumps. Extract from the OIG report here: pic.twitter.com/afjxBkcTkd
— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) December 9, 2019
Steele and the president’s daughter talked about working together when they met years before. They exchanged email and had a friendly relationship. The Trump Organization and the Trump family were familiar with Steele long before the dossier was ever written.
The Trump defense and attacks on Steele and the dossier were hypocritical nonsense. Republicans went to the mat for Donald Trump on the Russia scandal and now they look like fools. The party was already burned by the Trumps on the Russia scandal, and they are doing it again on impeachment.
The Trumps were lying about Christopher Steele. As previously reported, the IG report found no FBI bias against Trump, as the president’s entire Russia defense is collapsing before the eyes of the nation.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
