The former MI6 agent believed to be behind the report alleging Russia has “compromising” information on Donald Trump worked for a Jeb Bush Super PAC, BBC‘s Paul Wood reports.
Wood, BBC’s Washington correspondent, reports that the agent (who was identified by the Wall Street Journal as Christopher Steele, now a private security consultant) had multiple sources relay information about multiple video and audio tapes that Russia allegedly has to “blackmail” Trump.
“The rumors or the allegations or whatever you want to call them have been circulating for several months now,” Wood told BBC 4 radio. “I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October. He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this.”
Wood said that members of the US intelligence community told him at least one East European intelligence service knew that “the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump.”
“It’s very, very difficult, of course, to talk to US intelligence people. They’re breaking the law if they talk to you,” he said. “But I did ask somebody with connections in the CIA to pass a message to them, and I got a message back that there was allegedly more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
Wood added the caveat that “nobody should believe something just because an intelligence agent says it.”
“But it is viewed as credible by the CIA, and that’s why it landed on President Obama’s desk last week, on the desk of the congressional leadership, and was given to Mr. Trump as well. And even congressional Republicans are talking about investigations, and Democrats, I know, are talking about impeachment.”
At the end of the broadcast, Wood noted that the British agent who compiled the report was “employed by an opposition research firm working first for a Super PAC that supported Jeb Bush, and then an anonymous Democratic donor.”
ICYMI: BBC correspondent says there’s more than one source, more than one tape & more than one date of allegations in Trump intel dossier.
— Alastair Reid (@ajreid) January 11, 2017
