Be skeptical of the new dossier on Trump's ties to Russia

Trump's right. We should ignore the dossier.

Trump's links to Russia are very suspicious.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo)

For months, activists and opposition researchers have circulated a report making explosive allegations about President-elect Donald Trump and his links to Russia. The report suggests that Russia has been "cultivating, supporting, and assisting" Trump, and has collected a file of compromising information on him, including incriminating details about his finances and his personal life. At a Wednesday press conference, Trump denied the report, calling it "fake news, phony stuff" and saying "it should never have been released."

And Trump has a point. Up until recently, no journalistic outlet would publish the information because it could not be verified. But on Tuesday, BuzzFeed took the plunge and pressed "publish" anyway.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.