We’ve known the Christopher Steele dossier was bogus from the beginning; the question is, how extensively was it used to open an investigation into the Trump campaign?

Jerry Dunleavy reported at The Washington Examiner Friday that according to deposition transcripts released this week, Steele allegedly backed up parts of his dossier not from CNN reports but from posts on CNN’s iReport website, to which anyone could post their views, with CNN noting the user-generated stories were “not edited, fact-checked, or screened.” In other words, Steele used user comments as evidence.

NEW: In a court deposition, Christopher Steele says he didn't realize CNN iReport was a user-generated site with stories that aren't edited, fact-checked, or screened, despite using an article he found there to verify some allegations in the Trump Dossier.https://t.co/tTOJNrNlA7 — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) March 16, 2019

Dunleavy writes:

During his deposition, Steele was pressed on the methods he used to verify allegations made about Webzilla, which was thought to be used by Russia to hack into Democratic emails. When asked if he discovered “anything of relevance concerning Webzilla” during the verification process, Steele replied: “We did. It was an article I have got here which was posted on July 28, 2009, on something called CNN iReport.” “I do not have any particular knowledge of that,” Steele said when asked what was his understanding of how the iReport website worked. When asked if he understood that content on the site was not generated by CNN reporters, he said, “I do not.” He was then asked: “Do you understand that they have no connection to any CNN reporters?” Steele replied, “I do not.” He was pressed on this further: “Do you understand that CNN iReports are or were nothing more than any random individuals’ assertions on the Internet?” Steele replied: “No, I obviously presume that if it is on a CNN site that it may has some kind of CNN status. Albeit that it may be an independent person posting on the site.”

Citing actual CNN reports is risky enough, by user-generated posts? And this guy was a spy?

Christopher Steele admitted using posts by 'random individuals' on CNN website to back up Trump dossier https://t.co/YapTVH82hK — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 16, 2019

Turns out Master Spy Christopher Steele was every bit as careful, conscientious, and meticulous as we thought he was. From @JerryDunleavy: 'Christopher Steele admitted using posts by 'random individuals' on CNN website to back up Trump dossier.' https://t.co/jpA30IZ9ot — Byron York (@ByronYork) March 16, 2019

So when liberals say something from the dossier is “verified”, does that mean they just used a message board comment as their source? — Forty Years of Fine Tuning (@40YrsFineTuning) March 16, 2019

Wait. Super Spy Steele thought it was true because it was on the internet????? — Cathy Buffaloe (@cathybuffaloe) March 16, 2019

No, he didn’t think it was real. He just used random stuff from the internet to bolster his hoax. — Elizabeth (@fullhousemomma) March 16, 2019

Good point. — Cathy Buffaloe (@cathybuffaloe) March 16, 2019

This guy is worse than me writing a paper in college an hour before the due date. — Udit (@uditgoyal95) March 16, 2019

If this is his level expertise, I don't trust anything in the dossier… "Steele said last year he used a 2009 report he found on CNN's iReport website and said he wasn't aware that submissions to that site are posted by members of the public and are not checked for accuracy." — broquest (@mythicquest) March 16, 2019

I was a CNN ireporter. 1) we were not fact checkers 2) we were freelance journalists covering local issues, 3) many of us were not random 4) we were vetted by CNN producers, 5) we were unpaid 6) we often worked very closely with CNN 7) but anyone could upload prior to vetting — David P. Kronmiller (@dpkronmiller) March 16, 2019

Oh and it was essentially shut down about 4-5 years ago. — David P. Kronmiller (@dpkronmiller) March 16, 2019

He cobbled together an opp research document which was used to topple an elected president. He bolstered his fabrication using random bits of things he heard on CNN – like a bowerbird weaving shiny buttons into thatch of sticks and weeds. Can't wrap my head around this. — California Painter (@kwint) March 16, 2019

Soooo…he googled for dirt on Trump is what we're basically saying here — Jonnyappleseed (@jonnyAppls33d) March 16, 2019

A plagiarizing spy the quality every nation aspires to — bringer (@Dannyjo80885903) March 16, 2019

Troll dossier. Man. — Rob Steele (@RobSteele3) March 16, 2019

Steele could double as a reporter for the MSM! Go online, find an outrageous story and then post it. Sounds like WAPO, NYT, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS and many others! True JOURNALISM is dead! — Donald Cordery (@donaldcordery) March 16, 2019

He provided what his client paid him for; a disinformation campaign. — J.J. (@IMHObyJJ) March 16, 2019

Everyone of those bastards who signed on to the FISA applications based on Steele’s unverified open sourced opposition research needs to go to jail. After New Zealand, why is this not the story of the day? — DemInNameOnly (@DemInNameOnly) March 16, 2019

I remember how when his name was first released a major media org had a quote from one of Steele's friends that claimed he was "a real life James Bond"!! ????????? — Time Traveling Russian Hacker (@johnson90909) March 16, 2019

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