We know that the infamous Steele dossier was paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign through the law firm Perkins Coie. However, court testimony has revealed that Christopher Steele had met with Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann, who gave him the now-debunked tip that there was a secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russian bank Alfa Bank, whose founders have filed a defamation suit against Steele.

One of those meetings explains why Steele began investigating the now-debunked lead on Alfa Bank. https://t.co/SYkklDOL0H

NEW: Christopher Steele revealed previously undisclosed meetings with DNC and Clinton campaign lawyers in 2016.

Steele testified that he met with Perkins Coie's Michael Sussmann on July 29, 2016. He met with Marc Elias, the Clinton campaign general counsel, on Sept. 22, 2016 (lot of stuff happened around that date). — Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) April 28, 2020

The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reports:

A lawyer representing the DNC and Clinton campaign provided Christopher Steele with information in 2016 regarding an alleged secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank, the former spy told a British court last month. That now-debunked tip, from Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann, set off a chain of events that led to Steele publishing a Sept. 14, 2016 memo accusing the founders of the bank, Alfa Bank, of having “illicit” ties to Vladimir Putin. A week after Steele wrote that memo, he had another meeting with Sussmann’s colleague, Marc Elias. … Elias, who served as general counsel for the Clinton campaign, hired Fusion GPS in April 2016 to investigate Donald Trump. Fusion GPS in turn picked Steele, a former MI6 officer, in June 2016 to investigate Trump’s possible ties to Russia.

When was it debunked? — Seldom right, but never unsure (@Pete2303) April 28, 2020

About 2 minutes after it was reported in 2016. — Gonoles7682 (@gonoles7682) April 28, 2020

Here’s Epoch Times contributor Jeff Carlson with a detailed thread recounting the timeline:

Crossfire Hurricane opens on 7/31… Sussmann goes on to give Alpha Bank allegations to former FBI General counsel James Baker on Sept. 19, 2016. https://t.co/LendIX1QcB — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

Closed-door testimony by former top FBI lawyer James Baker revealed that a lawyer at Perkins Coie gave him information alleging that a Russian bank had been communicating with a server in Trump Tower—an allegation later proven false.https://t.co/Jyg6h7B93e — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

In either the second or third conversation, Baker came to understand The New York Times was also in possession of Sussmann’s information. As would become clear later, other members of the media also had this same information. — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

Baker was asked to go back to Sussmann and see if he would be willing to get the New York Times to delay publishing. As Sussmann was actually the source for the New York Times, he had the ability to force the paper to hold off on publishing, which they apparently did. — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

Oct. 31, 2016, the NYT published, “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia” which appeared to be an updated version of the article they had intended to publish before the FBI asked them to delay their reporting. — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

On this same day Slate published an article on the Alfa Server story. And David Corn published an article which provided the first public reporting on the existence of the Steele dossier. It also mentioned Alfa Bank.https://t.co/F4IBps33bh — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

On the same day, Oct. 31, Hillary Clinton sent a tweet that included a statement from Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser…https://t.co/wMSa53mkFw — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

“Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank” — a tweet which holds up about as well as that “Happy birthday to this future president” tweet.

Sullivan’s statement referenced the Slate article and with this statement from the Clinton campaign, combined with the Slate article and the Mother Jones article, the Alfa Bank story took off. Sussmann’s decision to choose Baker as his FBI contact proved highly effective. — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 28, 2020

Shocking! Nope. — Britt Woo (@brittswoo) April 28, 2020

When are Perkins Coie going to be held accountable @realDonaldTrump? They’re at the epicenter of everything that has happened, all of it from the get go. — Dave Burgess (@daverburgess) April 28, 2020

I know the attorney-client veil is almost impossible to penetrate but damnit, I hope the Perkins Coie and DNC shield can be penetrated and prosecuted! I want to know that firm ceases to exist because every damned attorney there is in prison!! — 🚁 DustOff (Ret) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Dust_Off70) April 28, 2020

How can anyone say they weren’t trying to affect the outcome of the election? These stories were planted and released mere days or weeks before the election. Once they lost it turned into a complete sabotage effort. — Drew Hawk (@WeGotOneBich) April 28, 2020

All roads lead back to crooked Hillary and the #ImWithHer crowd. Boy, I hope we see justice soon. #Durham — KK Berd (@keny_berd) April 28, 2020

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