NY Times podcast on Steele dossier's downfall neglects to mention Democratic spin doctor's key role
'The Daily' slammed 'profoundly flawed' document, said both sides of the aisle took political advantage of it
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New York Times podcast's breakdown of the Steele dossier neglected to mention a longtime Democratic operative's role in the indictment of one of the file's chief sub-sources.
In Monday's episode of "The Daily," Times reporter Michael Schmidt outlined the history of the controversial document that made startling allegations of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia in 2016. Funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, the 35-page intelligence report has been revealed to be heavily tainted by partisan actors and largely discredited in subsequent investigations.
Steele's sourcing has come under fire and been the subject of a media reckoning in recent weeks, following indictments in the John Durham probe into the Russia investigation's origins. Steele sub-source Igor Danchenko is accused of lying to the FBI, including about conversations he reportedly had with Hillary Clinton associate and Democratic spin doctor Charles Dolan.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schmidt broke down how the dossier largely conveyed rumors and innuendo that was treated as serious intelligence.
((Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images))
NEW YORK TIMES PODCAST: STEELE DOSSIER ‘PROFOUNDLY FLAWED,' SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD IMPACT IT DID
"They went out and in that process found out the sources that Steele had relied on. They interviewed those sources. And one of them, Igor Danchenko, lied repeatedly to the FBI about where he got his information from," he said. "[Danchenko] says that he did not understand that the information he was providing to Steele was going to be used as opposition research or that the information he had obtained from his sources would be represented somehow as conclusive. And the indictment lays out a pretty damning picture of how the information that Danchenko gave to Steele for the dossier was in fact second, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th hand."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schmidt and host Michael Barbaro agreed the document was "profoundly flawed," but Schmidt did not mention Dolan's extensive role in the Danchenko indictment. Schmidt didn't respond to a request for comment.
Identified in the indictment as "PR Executive-1" – his lawyer identified him to the media later on as Dolan – Dolac is mentioned numerous times and is also indicated to be the source for "one or more" of the allegations Steele made, including one about the reasons behind Paul Manafort leaving the Trump campaign chairman position.
ALEXANDRIA, VA - NOVEMBER 10: Russian analyst Igor Danchenko arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse before being arraigned on November 10, 2021 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"PR Executive-1 's role as a contributor of information to the Company Reports was highly relevant and material to the FBI's evaluation of those reports because (a) PR Executive-I maintained pre-existing and ongoing relationships with numerous persons named or described in the Company Reports, including one of DANCHENKO's Russian sub-sources (detailed below), (b) PR Executive-I maintained historical and ongoing involvement in Democratic politics, which bore upon PR Executive-I's reliability, motivations, and potential bias as a source of information for the Company Reports, and (c) DANCHENKO gathered some of the information contained in the Company Reports at events in Moscow organized by PR Executive-I and others that DANCHENKO attended at PR Executive-1 's invitation," the indictment reads.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}STEELE DOSSIER KEY PLAYER GAVE THOUSANDS TO HILLARY, DEMS
Dolan was a state chairman for President Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 campaigns, advised Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, and "actively campaigned and participated in calls and events as a volunteer on behalf of Hillary Clinton." In his career as a public relations professional, he had extensive Russian contacts and connections.
The Washington Post's Erik Wemple, who has been harshly critical of outlets like CNN and MSNBC for their extensive promotion of the Steele dossier during the Trump years, wrote about Dolan's role as an example of the "circular logic" of its allegations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump listens as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton answers a question from the audience during their presidential town hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., October 9, 2016. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking /File Photo )
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"Talk about circular logic: The dossier was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee — via research group Fusion GPS — yet here was a career Democrat feeding information to its primary collector," Wemple wrote last month.
Despite being unverified, the dossier was read into the congressional record by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and was relied on heavily by the FBI to obtain a surveillance warrant on Trump aide Carter Page.