A former senior State Department official connected to numerous Congressional investigations involving the origination of the FBI’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia is a long time friend of former British Spy Christopher Steele, apparently used Steele to act ‘unofficially’ for the United States and was later approached by a Hollywood producer to make an anti-Trump film.

Jonathan Winer, who is also a long-time colleague of former State Department official John Kerry exchanged multiple emails with Steele, as far back as 2014. Winer, who served as the former envoy for Libya during his tenure at the Department, wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Feb. 8, 2018. He defended his relationship with Steele and his role in the infamous dossier at the time with the intention of pre-empting questions from congressional committees questioning his role. Winer said his relationship with Steele goes back to 2009.

“These documents show that Fusion GPS and (Hillary) Clinton spy Christopher Steele had a close relationship with the Obama State Department,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The State Department under John Kerry is emerging as another center of the Spygate conspiracy against President Trump.”

“Let’s Do A Movie About This,” Hollywood producer Eric Hamburg

Steele Is A Well Established Friend, Conduit Of Obama State Department

In one revealing email Winer describes the depth of his relationship with Steele. He introduces the former British spy on Nov. 20, 2014, to a business associate Nelson Cunningham, President of McLarty Associates. Cunningham’s firm is an international consulting firm co-founded by former Clinton White House Counselor Thomas ‘Mack’ McLarty. He describes Steele as “an old friend of mine,” and “a former senior British intelligence officer focusing on former Soviet Union with a number of US and European private sector clients these days…”

By 2017, Winer and Steele were deeply embroiled in the Russia Trump investigation. Other State Department officials were also involved and meeting with Steele. In one specific email from Hollywood producer Eric Hamburg, Winer is asked to work on a film regarding the Steele’s now debunked dossier allegations.

In the email on Jan.12, 2017, Hamburg sends Winer an article about the Steele dossier to Winer asking to make a movie. The British news outlet The Independent published a story regarding Steele and the salacious allegations that Trump had hired prostitutes in Russia to urinate on the bed where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had stayed.

Hamburg writes: “Dear Jonathan, I have been meaning to write to you, and just came across this article which mentions your name… Let’s do a movie about this!

I was wondering if you have decided what your next position will be after leaving government. I’d like to keep in touch and get together next time I’m in Washington. I’m currently working on a mini-series about Watergate for ABC with John Dean.”

Some emails between Steele and Winer from years earlier. In one email on Dec. 11, 2014, in which Winer puts pressure on his colleague, Nina Miller to work with Steele and help him with his reports.

He asks Miller to get “O Reports” [likely Orbis] to Toria [Victoria] Nuland and Paul Jones ASAP.” Then Nuland was State Department Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs; Jones the European and Eurasian Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.

Winer Email To Miller

From: Winer, Jonathan

Sent: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:41:32 +0000

To: Miller, Nina A

Subject: Please get “O Reports” to Toria Nuland and Paul Jones ASAP – they are time [sp] I know you have other burdens, but this one needs to get done if you can as soon as possible.

Then in emails sent on Nov. 20, 2014, Winer “openly acts as a liaison for Steele, attempting to set up meetings for “Chris” and referencing “Three Orbis Reports” in the subject line of the email. This meeting was scheduled to be with Marialuisa Fotheringham, office manager to the principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs and, again, Paul W. Jones,” Judicial Watch states.

Winer also negotiates a time with Ariuna Namsrai, APCO Worldwide’s senior director and managing director for Russia, CIS and Central Asia for her to meet Christopher Steele at “lunch or dinner.” APCO itself as one of the world’s leading advisory and advocacy communications consultancies.

In emails from Jan. 13-14, 2015, with the subject line “Morocco immediate need,” Winer introduces the foreign former spy Steele to Marc Ginsberg, former Ambassador to Morocco under Bill Clinton. Ginsberg was a former APCO Worldwide Senior Vice President and Managing Director and former CEO of One Voice Movement Foundation.

Winer Email To Former APCO Official

Winer writes to Ginsberg: “Marc, Chris Steele is a friend of mine who has a very, very high­ end business intelligence service based in London. He formerly worked for the UK government.”

Ginsberg replies to Winer: “I spoke to Chris… complicated!”

In an email on April 13, 2015, to Steele and his partner Chris Burrows titled “Request for contacts with WB and IMF” Winer appears to ask Steele and Burrows to act unofficially on behalf of the United States with World Bank and the International Monetary Fund:

Winer writes: Chris and Chris, advice is that you brief the country team…. it would be best that this not come in from or through any US official, but be a straight-on request from you in light of impact on Mongolia and there [sic] need to know.”

Here’s a highly suspicious email on July 13, 2015: Winer is trying to schedule a dinner in London with Steele and discloses from his non-secured Blackberry that he is scheduled to have a “Secure Video Teleconference Call [SVTC] with ‘higher ranked people than I am at the NSC.’ Steele later confirms their dinner appointment, and says, “I shall wait for you on the park bench in the main square facing the front of the embassy building.”

John Kerry’s Role In Trump Russia May Be Bigger Than We Know

Committee officials and ongoing investigations have yet to determine how many senior officials within the Obama administration, like Kerry, were aware of the dossier.

In February, 2018 questions also surfaced regarding Secretary of State Kerry’s possible involvement or knowledge of the dossier.

For nearly two years, the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Committee have uncovered significant emails and documents as well revealing the involvement of senior officials in the State Department involved in assisting or speaking with sources connected to the investigation into Trump and Russia.

The Senate Judiciary, then under Chairman Chuck Grassley sent a criminal referral last year regarding Steele to the Department of Justice. It also noted that several Clinton allies were also connected to the State Department and the dossier. This reporter first revealed Sidney Blumenthal, a close confidant of Hillary Clinton, and Cody Shearer’s role in the FBI’s investigation into Trump. Shearer is a former journalist who went on to work for the Clintons early in his career and is believed to have been feeding Steele information, as well as creating his own separate dossier.

Steele has now agreed to speak to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz regarding the dossier, which was paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to reports. It is reported he will not meet with DOJ Prosecutor John Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr.

Sidney Blumenthal, State Department and The Clintons