The Wall Street Journal has named a British former spy as the man who prepared the anti-Trump fake news dossier which was eventually publicized by CNN and BuzzFeed on January 10.
The Journal reported that the man is Christopher Steele, a director of London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd.
Steele, the paper said, had once worked for Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency.
The much-criticized dossier was reportedly prepared as opposition research paid for by both Republican and Democrat teams opposing Trump’s candidacy for the presidency.
Christopher Burrows, Steele’s partner at Orbis Business Intelligence, would not confirm the paper’s identification of Steele as the author. Steele has also refused interviews on the topic.
Donald Trump ridiculed the CNN and BuzzFeed story as “fake news” and a “witch hunt.”
FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
I win an election easily, a great "movement" is verified, and crooked opponents try to belittle our victory with FAKE NEWS. A sorry state!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
Finger-pointing over the “fake news” contained in the dossier even set CNN against BuzzFeed on Wednesday, when the cable news network released a statement distancing itself from the website’s release of the dossier.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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