Ex-spy behind Trump dossier believes it is 70 to 90 percent true

Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the controversial dossier alleging Russia possesses compromising information about President Trump, believes the document is just 70 to 90 percent accurate, The Guardian reported Wednesday. Steele's assessment of his own work was reported on by Guardian journalist Luke Harding in his forthcoming book about Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

In January, BuzzFeed News published the unverified dossier in full, which alleges that the Russian government has salacious information on Trump that could leave him vulnerable to pressure from the Kremlin. Steele reportedly told friends that reading the dossier would be "a life-changing experience" for anyone who did so. "I've been dealing with [Russia] for 30 years," Harding quotes Steele as saying. "Why would I invent this stuff?"

Harding's book claims that the FBI warned Steele weeks before the election to not go public with the information in the dossier. The dossier's most explosive allegations remain unverified, though parts of it have since been inadvertently confirmed by Trump campaign associates. Trump himself has called it "a disgrace" and "a sad commentary on politics in this country."

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