Report: Clinton campaign, DNC helped fund research that resulted in Trump dossier

Christopher Steele's business headquarters.
(Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

In April 2016, a lawyer representing Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee retained the services of a Washington firm to conduct research into President Trump's business interests, which led to the compilation of a dossier with allegations about Trump's connections to Russia, several people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.

Congressional Republicans have been pushing for the firm, Fusion GPS, to reveal who paid for the research; it has refused, citing confidentiality agreements. The Post reports that lawyer Marc E. Elias retained Fusion GPS in April 2016. Before then, during the GOP primary, the company's research into Trump was funded by a Republican donor whose identity remains unknown. This person paid Fusion GPS to investigate Trump's background, and it was quickly determined that Trump had deep ties to Russia, several people told the Post.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.