Paul Sperry has an interesting article today at Real Clear Politics outlining the amount of expenditures by special counsel Robert Mueller during his two-year investigation. Sperry notes many in DC are wondering who the “contractors” are that were paid by Mueller:

Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent more than $732,000 on outside contractors, including private investigators and researchers, records show, but his office refuses to say who they were. While it’s not unusual for special government offices to outsource for services such as computer support, Mueller also hired contractors to compile “investigative reports” and other “information.” (read more)

Strongly suggest reading the above article.

Sperry outlines the breadcrumb trail which seems to indicate that Glenn Simpson (Fusion GPS) and Chris Steele may have been paid. One of the key aspects lending weight to this likelihood is the part of Mueller’s specific mandate, as delivered by DAG Rosenstein, that the special counsel investigate the claims within the Steele Dossier.

Read the highlighted portion below carefully to understand the scope of Mueller’s mandate. Note the careful wording “the Special Counsel had been authorized since his appointment to investigate allegations”… This means from Day #1 of the special counsel, the scope of the probe was always to investigate the claims within the Ohr/Steele Dossier:

We know the same group of DOJ/FBI investigators transferred from the 2016 Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence investigation into the 2017, 2018, 2019 Special Counsel investigation; so it only makes sense the same originating sources (Fusion, Simpson and Steele) would be participating in Mueller’s probe.

Accepting the investigation of the DNC-Fusion-Ohr/Steele Dossier was part of the August 2nd, 2017, scope memo (it was); and accepting the same people were involved in the continuance of the investigation (they were); it is not a leap that Glenn Simpson and Chris Steele were contracted by Mueller to keep their efforts underway.

Heck, at this point, as alarming as it might sound, it would be more surprising if Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr and Christopher Steele were not contributing members to the investigative group.

The question I have is whether Weissmann and Mueller hired Perkins Coie?

From the beginning most people have thought the Fusion-GPS objective was to dig up dirt on Trump for political exploitation. However, with all the recent information outlined there’s actually a more significant role for Fusion.

The overall intelligence apparatus of the U.S. government was already conducting political surveillance on their political opposition. The systems of the intelligence apparatus such as FISA-702(16)(17) databases searches were being exploited months (if not years) beforehand. When NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers discovered the use of the database he shut down contractor access on April 18th, 2016.

When Fusion GPS was hired by the DNC and Clinton team, also in April of 2016, it now appears the purpose was to provide cover for government surveillance already taking place. Perhaps part of that motive was fear of what NSA Mike Rogers might do.

The Obama administration (U.S. government intelligence apparatus) needed an external source of information that could cover their domestic surveillance and spy operations. That’s why Fusion GPS was hired, and why emphasis was put on using European and Australian intelligence contacts to create the plausible process to continue surveillance that was always taking place.

This corrupt weaponizing of the U.S. intelligence apparatus is MUCH BIGGER than anyone currently absorbs. The Steele Dossier was an eventual part of the cover-story.

When Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were discussing the “insurance policy” in August 2016, they were not discussing insurance from the perspective of their success, ie. Clinton elected; they were discussing insurance from the position of: if they failed.

If Clinton was elected, great; everything continues as normal. However, if Clinton was not elected the weaponization of government needed a cover story, a plausible legitimate reason for why political surveillance/spying was taking place. This is the insurance policy need…. This is why they needed the Steele Dossier.

Regardless of anything happening to stop them, the intelligence community was conducting surveillance of their political opposition. To validate that surveillance the intelligence community needed a plausible FBI counterintelligence operation. That’s where John Brennan (CIA) comes in.

Brennan manufactured the plausible excuse for an FBI operation to begin through the use of “unofficial channels” via Joseph Mifsud, Stefan Halper and eventually Alexander Downer via an Australian intelligence asset Erika Thompson; who was working in London with U.S. intelligence assets Terrence Dudley and Greg Baker, ie. the “Papadopoulos operation”.

While the overseas operation was working to create plausible explanation and start Crossfire Hurricane, back in the U.S. Fusion-GPS was contracted to supplement the appearances for a domestic parallel track. Fusion ran operations for the Russian appearances inside the U.S., ex. Trump Tower meeting.

For their effort, Fusion was using previously extracted FISA-702(16)(17) results to create more supportive evidence and plausible material. That Fusion effort led to the Steele Dossier.

However, in a similar way the Brennan operation needed the Australian Diplomat Alexander Downer to cross from “unofficial” into “official” channels, the Steele Dossier needs a way to cross from ‘unofficial opposition research‘ into official investigative status.

Enter the Steele Dossier.

The Steele Dossier is the investigative virus the FBI needed. To get the virus into official status, they use the FISA application as the delivery method and injected it into Carter Page. The FBI already knew Carter Page; essentially Carter Page was irrelevant, what they needed was the Dossier in the system {Go Deep}.

With the communication from Alexander Downer (foundation for the EC), in conjunction with the Steele Dossier (foundation for the Page FISA), the CIA and FBI now held a plausible -albeit fraudulently obtained- basis to explain/justify all of their 2015 and 2016 political spying and surveillance activity. This is their insurance policy.

Andrew Weissmann was/is one of the DOJ participants who is well aware of the status of the operations as they proceed. In 2016 and 2017 Weissmann is being briefed by DOJ official Bruce Ohr who is carrying messages from Fusion-GPS and Chris Steele into the FBI.

If Hillary wins the election, everything just evaporates into the ether. However, if Hillary loses the election – the fraudulent investigative evidence now protects all of the players for their role in weaponized intelligence spying and surveillance operations.

Fraudulent justifications.

Just like the Susan Rice justification Memo, fraudulent justifications are what’s behind those paragraphs in the Rosenstein scope memos as delivered to Weissmann and Mueller.

Fusion GPS was not hired to research Trump, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations.

See the difference?

Fusion-GPS gave them the justification they needed with the Steele Dossier.

That’s why the Steele Dossier is so important in the scope memos.

So yeah, with the Dossier representing the simultaneous importance and risk to the Special Counsel and corrupt DOJ and FBI officials…. damn right Weissmann and Mueller likely retained Fusion-GPS and Chris Steele.