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Fusion GPS is the political research firm responsible for the creation and publicizing of false information in the infamous Trump dossier authored by Christopher Steele. The Democratic party opposition research firm is now accused of being an unregistered foreign agent due to undisclosed ties to the Russian government.

Follow the Money: Fusion GPS

Where did the money for the Trump dossier come from, where did it go and who was involved? (click image for larger version)

What is the Trump Dossier

The Trump dossier, also known as the Steele Dossier, is a collection of memos containing mostly-discredited negative information on Donald Trump. The dossier was created by Christopher Steele as part of a Fusion GPS opposition research project paid for by several anti-Trump contributors.

Christopher Steele was hired by Fusion GPS, a firm directly paid by the Washington Free Beacon and indirectly by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Barack Obama’s organization, and the Democratic National Committee (through Elias at Perkins Coie) to complete opposition research on presidential candidate Donald Trump during the primary and general presidential campaigns of 2016.

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The dossier became public in October 2016 shortly after Steele presented it to the FBI, British Intelligence and John McCain. It was then used by the FBI to dishonestly substantiate FISA warrants to surveil members of Donald Trump’s campaign and is currently the only “evidence” of unproven Trump-Russia collusion.

Who is linked to Fusion GPS and the Trump Dossier

Central Actors:

Adam Schiff: Chairman of House Intelligence Committee (formerly ranking member), allegedly met with Fusion GPS Founder Glenn Simpson at the Aspen Security Forum in July of 2018.

Glenn Simpson: CEO of Fusion GPS

Hillary Clinton: Former first lady, Obama administration Secretary of State and two-time failed presidential candidate, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign financed Fusion GPS, through Marc Elias, to produce the Trump dossier.

Democratic National Committee: The DNC works to get prominent Democrats elected/re-elected to office. In 2016 it provided funding to Fusion GPS, through Marc Elias, for opposition research that included the Trump dossier.

Obama for America (OFA): Barack Obama’s campaign organization gave $972,000 to Fusion GPS starting in April of 2016 through the law firm of Perkins Coie according to Federal Election Commission records.

John McCain: Senator from Arizona and an outspoken Trump critic, McCain received two copies of the Trump dossier. An early copy was provided directly by Christopher Steele and a final copy by Fusion GPS Founder Glenn Simpson. McCain is also linked to David Kramer who gave the Dossier to Buzzfeed for publication.

David Kramer: McCain associate who provided the Steel Dossier to BuzzFeed.

BuzzFeed: Internet media company responsible for the first publication of the Trump dossier on January 10, 2017. Buzzfeed has invoked “reporters privilege” to avoid disclosing who gave them a copy of the dossier.

Natalia Veselnitskaya: Russian lawyer and former Russian intelligence officer who requested a meeting with Donald Trump, Jr. and contracted Fusion GPS during her lobbying effort to have Russian sanctions lifted against Vladimir Putin. Fusion GPS says it had no role in organizing the meeting between her and Trump Jr. but her past efforts to aid Putin do create a strong case for a link between Fusion GPS and the Kremlin. Fusion GPS would not have helped her for free so the key is the money trail that, as of yet, has not been established.

Marc Elias: Chairman, partner and head of the political law practice at the law firm of Perkins Coie. Elias handled millions of dollars of funds from Hillary Clinton and the DNC that made it to Fusion GPS.

Michael Sussman: Partner at Perkins Coie who brought Crowdstrike in to handle a breach of DNC servers ahead of the 2016 election.

The Washington Free Beacon: Conservative publication started by Michael Goldfarb, Aaron Harrison, and Matthew Continetti as a non-profit project of the Center for American Freedom. In 2014 it turned to a for-profit business. In late 2015 to early 2016, the Beacon funded opposition research, through Fusion GPS, on then-candidate Donald Trump. Paul Singer is thought to be a major financial backer of the publication although the Beacon has never made its ownership or financial backers public.

Christopher Steele: Former British intelligence agent (MI6) and founder of Orbis Business Intelligence, a private intelligence firm. Steele is the author of the infamous and discredited Trump dossier.

Bruce Ohr: Associate deputy attorney general who worked in close proximity to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and was demoted after it was found that he had undisclosed contacts with Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS before and after the election.

Paul Singer: Hedge fund manager, activist investor, financial backer of the Washington Free Beacon, and prominent establishment Republican financier, Singer backed at least two candidates opposing Trump in the 2016 election, and is thought to have funded opposition research on President Trump. He, and others affiliated with his hedge fund, Elliot Management are the top contributors to Mitch McConnell’s National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Mark Warner: The Top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee which is running an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Warner exchanged text messages with Adam Waldman beginning in February of 2017 to negotiate the appearance of Christopher Steele in front of the committee for a hearing, but Steele refused to testify unless he received a bi-partisan letter requesting the interview. Warner had no intention of sharing his sources or methods with Republicans making the letter impossible.

Oleg Deripaska: Russian aluminum magnate and close friend of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Used Adam Waldman to contact U.S. government officials on his behalf.

Adam Waldman: American lobbyist that worked often in the interest of Russian officials. He exchanged text messages with Sen. Mark Warren (D-Va) offering to help get Christopher Steele to testify before the committee. Ultimately the negotiations failed because Steele demanded a bi-partisan request letter and Warner had no interest in bring Republicans into the mix. Waldman served as counsel for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, lobbied for Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska and had connections to Christopher Steele.

Daniel Jones: The Waldman-Warner text messages mention Daniel Jones as having contact with both Warner and Steele. Jones has been working with Fusion GPS to verify information in the Trump Dossier since it was published.

Peripheral Actors:

Crowdstrike: An American Cybersecurity firm that was brought in by Clinton law firm Perkins Coie. Partner Michael Sussman contacted Crowdstrike’s CEO to deal with the intrusion of DNC systems ahead of the 2016 presidential elections. The FBI was never allowed to investigate the breach and relied on information from Crowdstrike in order to blame the hack on Russian-linked groups.

Jeb Bush: Son of George H.W. Bush and brother of George W. Bush, Jeb received money from GOP establishment, pro-amnesty, anti-Trump financier Paul Singer during the 2016 presidential election primary.

Marco Rubio: U.S. Senator, failed 2016 presidential candidate and recipient of $5 million in election backing during his 2016 run from establishment Republican financier Paul Singer.

Find all the latest news about the dossier on CDN’s Trump dossier page.

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