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In other words ...
There just wasn’t just one source — the Dossier — as so many Trump Toadies would have us believe … as the “initial cause” of the Trump-Russia Investigation.
Let’s examine a few of them …
Dutch spy agencies passed FBI ‘crucial’ intel on Russian election hacking: reports
Dutch intelligence officials provided the FBI with crucial evidence that helped pave the way for the bureau’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Dutch media reports.
The Volkskrant newspaper is reporting that officials with the Netherland’s AIVD, the General Intelligence and Security Service, penetrated networks used by Russian hackers in 2014 and observed them subsequently breaking into networks used by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
[...]
The technical evidence that the AIVD and the Netherlands’s MIVD, or Military Intelligence and Security Service, passed to the FBI is described as “crucial” in providing the grounds for the bureau’s probe into Russia's election meddling, though it is unclear what it entailed. Former FBI Director James Comey has confirmed that the investigation started in July 2016.
Reuters Staff — Dec 30, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat in May 2016 that Russia had political dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The conversation between Papadopoulos and the diplomat, Alexander Downer, in London was a driving factor behind the FBI’s decision to open a counter-intelligence investigation of Moscow’s contacts with the Trump campaign, the Times reported.
This ‘Australian diplomat tip-off’ story was even reported by Fox News, lest the breathless Memo-promoters conveniently forget.
Speaking of “the FBI being tipped-off” by sources other than Fusion GSP and Christopher Steele — there’s this frequently over-looked ‘nugget’ of well-tracked cyber-warfare activities:
[page i]
Scope
This report includes an analytic assessment drafted and coordinated among The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and The National Security Agency (NSA), which draws on intelligence information collected and disseminated by those three agencies. It covers the motivation and scope of Moscow’s intentions regarding US elections and Moscow’s use of cyber tools and media campaigns to influence US public opinion. The assessment focuses on activities aimed at the 2016 US presidential election and draws on our understanding of previous Russian influence operations.
[...]
Sourcing
Many of the key judgments in this assessment rely on a body of reporting from multiple sources that are consistent with our understanding of Russian behavior. Insights into Russian efforts — including specific cyber operations — and Russian views of key US players derive from multiple corroborating sources.
Some of our judgments about Kremlin preferences and intent are drawn from the behavior of Kremlin-loyal political figures, state media, and pro-Kremlin social media actors, all of whom the Kremlin either directly uses to convey messages or who are answerable to the Kremlin. [...]
[page ii]
Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections
ICA 2017-01D
6 January 2017
Key Judgments
[...]
We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.
We have high confidence in these judgments.
[...]
Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, United States of America
ICA — Intelligence Community Assessment
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So you see, even without the Steele Dossier thrown into the Cyber-security Threats mix — there were PLENTY of other independent sources — that motivated the top Intelligence Agencies in the country, to take the Russian Threat seriously. Even though the Steele Dossier, which has
yet to be dis-proven, was only one ‘confirming piece’ of the puzzle —
it was NOT the “prime mover” that got the whole search for Trump-Russia involvement kicked off, in the first place.
Many other alarm-bells
had already tipped off these Intel Agencies to the grave threats our Democracy was (and
is still) facing from a disruptive “foreign influence campaign.”
Therefore, one of the early rationales for the Nunes “history-changing” Memo (that without the “Hillary-funded Dossier” there would be No Trump-Russia Investigation) — is Bunk!
Game, Set — Match!