The DOJ grilled Trump dossier author Christopher Steele for two days. What they reportedly heard was 'credible' and 'surprising.'
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Christopher Steele is back.
The former MI6 agent behind the now-infamous "Steele Dossier" on President Trump's ties to Russia — you know, the one containing the alleged "pee tape" — was the subject of a two-day grilling by the Justice Department's internal watchdog in June, Politico reports. Coincidentally, the interview took place in London while Trump was on his state visit to the British capital.
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz has been conducting an investigation into the FBI's efforts to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page based, in part, on information provided by Steele.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The interview reportedly didn't start off well for either side. Horowitz's team wasn't sure about Steele as a credible witness, especially after the dossier was disputed by Trump and other officials. Steele, meanwhile, wasn't keen on speaking with the investigators because he's a foreign national.
But all's well that ends well. Both sides reportedly eased into the interview, and investigators found Steele's testimony credible and "even surprising." That's not good news for Trump allies who have claimed that Steele's dossier was used improperly by the FBI so they could "spy" on Trump's campaign. Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
