BBC correspondent Paul Wood came forward Wednesday to reveal that there are multiple intelligence sources alleging Russia is in possession of potentially embarrassing or compromising material regarding President-elect Donald Trump. Formerly, only a single source was known to have been aware of the alleged material.
"I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October," Wood said. "He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this.” The Wall Street Journal alleges the British source is Christopher Steele, a director of the London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd.
A member of the U.S. intelligence community also told Wood that "at least one East European intelligence service was aware 'that the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump,'" Raw Story reports. Wood said that he "got a message back" from the U.S. intelligence community member and that there is reportedly "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."
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Wood did add, however, that "nobody should believe something just because an intelligence agent says it."
BuzzFeed News has been heavily criticized for publishing the unsubstantiated intelligence in full Tuesday night, which alleges collusion between Trump and Russia as well as the existence of a tape that would be embarrassing for Trump were it to be released. CNN carried similar, but less detailed, allegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday denied the reports and called them "an absolute fiction" and "a total bluff." Trump has called the reports "fake news" and dismissed all that has been alleged.
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