There’s a myriad of angles within this that must be reviewed prior to absorbing content.

First, do not think the Washington Post is ever going to frame a damaging article against the Clinton’s or DNC; it is beyond their inherent ideology to do so. Therefore the motive of any media expose’ must be kept in mind.

Second, while the article itself states the Clinton Campaign and the DNC paid Fusion GPS to contract Christopher Steele, the researcher and dossier author, the article also tries to lend some credibility toward the content therein. This is another possible angle.

Third, the judge in case of the congressional subpoena into Fusion GPS bank records -to discover the funding of the dossier- gave Fusion GPS until Friday of this week to work out an agreement with congress that would eliminate the need for a judicial decision. It is entirely possible this WaPo article was advanced by a risk averse Fusion GPS in order to dilute the need for the bank record inquiry. No doubt the bank records would contain far more information than just the Clinton Campaign and DNC.

Fourth, with #3 in mind, and considering this report is from within the Washington Post, there is a strong possibility the other finance mechanisms for the dossier might include the U.S. government (FBI and CIA). Additionally likely – knowing the WaPo has a history of defending, and working on behalf of, the intelligence community.

Fifth, the sourcing within the Washington Post article is weak, vague and disingenuous with verbiage such as: “people familiar with the matter”, “according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity”, “people involved in the matter“, etc. Notice how the term “matter” repeats. That familiar term is frequent throughout the article.

As to the substance:

(Washington Post) The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about President Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said. Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research. After that, Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Elias and his law firm, Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016 on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Before that agreement, Fusion GPS’s research into Trump was funded by a still unknown Republican client during the GOP primary. The Clinton campaign and the DNC, through the law firm, continued to fund Fusion GPS’s research through the end of October 2016, days before Election Day. […] People involved in the matter said that they would not disclose the dollar amounts paid to Fusion GPS, but said that the campaign and the DNC shared the cost. Steele previously worked in Russia for British intelligence. The dossier is a compilation of reports he prepared for Fusion. The dossier alleged that the Russian government collected compromising information about Trump and the Kremlin was engaged in an active effort to assist his campaign for president. […] Fusion GPS’s work researching Trump began during the Republican presidential primaries, when the GOP donor paid for the firm to investigate the real estate tycoon’s background. Fusion GPS did not start off looking at Trump’s Russia ties, but quickly realized that those relationships were extensive, according to the people familiar with the matter. When the Republican donor stopped paying for the research, Elias, acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC, agreed to pay for the work to continue. The Democrats paid for research, including by Fusion GPS, because of concerns that little was known about Trump and his business interests, according to the people familiar with the matter. […] Some of Steele’s allegations began circulating in Washington in the summer of 2016 as the FBI launched its counterintelligence investigation into possible connections between Trump associates and the Kremlin. Around that time, Steele shared some of his findings with the FBI. After the election, the FBI agreed to pay Steele to continue gathering intelligence about Trump and Russia, but the bureau pulled out of the arrangement after Steele was publicly identified in news reports. […] Congressional Republicans have tried to force Fusion GPS to identify the Democrat or group behind Steele’s work, but the firm has said that it would not do so, citing confidentiality agreements with its clients. Last week, Fusion GPS executives invoked their constitutional right not to answer questions from the House Intelligence Committee. The firm’s founder, Glenn Simpson, had previously given a 10-hour interview to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Over objections from Democrats, the Republican leader of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), subpoenaed Fusion GPS’s bank records to try to identify the mystery client. Fusion GPS has been fighting the release of its bank records. A judge on Tuesday extended a deadline for Fusion GPS’s bank to respond to the subpoena until Friday while the company attempts to negotiate a resolution with Nunes. (read full article)

Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year https://t.co/vXKRV1wRJc — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 24, 2017

2/2 Listen carefully to this CNN interview (January 9th 2016) and where Bob Beckel says he's going. -> https://t.co/AIdg0mBZyB — TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) October 24, 2017