Trump cites Yahoo News' Michael Isikoff in claiming vindication on 'Steele dossier'
President Trump claimed vindication Tuesday on the so-called “Steele dossier,” which helped launch the FBI investigation of his 2016 campaign, citing comments by Yahoo News’ chief investigative correspondent, Michael Isikoff, that “there’s good grounds to think that some of the more sensational allegations will never be proven and are likely false.”
In an interview with the conservative Free Speech Broadcasting podcast, Isikoff — who broke some of the original stories about the dossier in September 2016 — said that “when you actually get into the details of the Steele dossier, the specific allegations, we have not seen the evidence to support them.”
Conservative media outlets seized on this part of Isikoff’s comments, and Trump, in turn, did too.
“Russia Dossier reporter now doubts dopey Christopher Steele’s claims!” the president tweeted early Tuesday.
Russia Dossier reporter now doubts dopey Christopher Steele’s claims! “When you get into the details of the Steele Dossier, the specific allegations, we have not seen the evidence to support them. There’s good grounds to think that some of the more sensational allegations…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2018
….WILL NEVER BE PROVEN AND ARE LIKELY FALSE.” Thank you to Michael Isikoff, Yahoo, for honesty. What this means is that the FISA WARRANTS and the whole Russian Witch Hunt is a Fraud and a Hoax which should be ended immediately. Also, it was paid for by Crooked Hillary & DNC!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2018
Isikoff’s reporting on the dossier was cited in the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Application, or FISA, for permission to wiretap a Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page. The dossier, which was compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, included uncorroborated intelligence about links between the Trump campaign and Russia, and allegations that Russian intelligence might have surveillance tapes of Trump’s activities during a trip to Moscow that could be used to compromise him. The existence of those tapes has never been corroborated.
The full context of Isikoff’s interview makes it clear, though, that Trump is overstating the extent to which he can claim to have been vindicated in the matter. “In broad strokes, Christopher Steele was clearly onto something,” Isikoff said in the interview, which was posted Saturday. “That there was a major Kremlin effort to interfere in our elections, that they were trying to help Trump’s campaign, and that there were multiple contacts between various Russian figures close to the government and various people in Trump’s campaign.”
The administration and Congressional Republicans, including House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes, have claimed that the investigation of President Trump was tainted from the outset because it was prompted by assertions in the dossier. But there is no evidence that the FBI or Department of Justice acted improperly in obtaining the warrant to put Page under surveillance. And the Yahoo News report was the first to report that U.S. intelligence agencies were investigating claims that were made in the dossier.
“Michael Isikoff was the first to report Dossier allegations and now seriously doubts the Dossier claims,” the president added. “The whole Russian Collusion thing was a HOAX, but who is going to restore the good name of so many people whose reputations have been destroyed?”
Isikoff, who co-authored “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump” with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, responded in a tweet linking to the book.
But here is what is true, Mr. President. https://t.co/UubCYsacAO @DavidCornDC @SkullduggeryPod https://t.co/zfGA7WUVNq
— Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff) December 18, 2018
Corn also responded, noting a key passage in the book’s conclusion: “During the campaign, Trump had encouraged Russia’s hacking and dumping — of which he was the chief beneficiary,” Isikoff and Corn write. “He had praised WikiLeaks releases, promoting them, and calling for more — even after he had received a secret U.S. government briefing stating that the cyber break-ins and dissemination of Democratic files were part of a Russian covert operation to undermine the election.
“He had spoken positively about Putin and suggested he was eager to undo sanctions and cut deals with the Kremlin — even as the Russia information warfare campaign was under way. Whether or not the investigations would ever turn up hard evidence of direct collusion, Trump’s actions — his adamant and consistent denial of any Russia role — had provided Putin cover. In that sense, he had aided and abetted Moscow’s attack on American democracy.”
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