FBI agreed to fund spy who wrote Trump/Russia dossier
- Dave Lawler, author of Axios World
The FBI intended to pay the British spy who authored the Trump/Russia dossier to continue his work after the election, the Washington Post reports.
Christopher Steele was funded by groups opposing Donald Trump during the election, but the bureau planned to foot the bill afterward.
Trump has dismissed the dossier, which alleged Russia had compromising information about him, as "fake news", but James Comey felt compelled to brief him on it prior to his inauguration.
Why it matters: this is the clearest sign to date that the FBI felt Steele's work was credible, despite the fact that some facets of the dossier proved inaccurate. Today's revelation could also further strain relations between the White House and FBI.
The latest: the FBI came to a verbal agreement with Steele in October, according to the Post, but it evaporated after the dossier became the subject of media reports.