LIZ SHELD:
“…So who decided to brief President Trump (aka “the news hook”) on the Steele dossier back in January of 2017? Fox News has the receipts.
Sources familiar with the records told Fox News that a late-2016 email chain indicated then-FBI Director James Comey told bureau subordinates that then-CIA Director John Brennan insisted the dossier be included in the intelligence community assessment on Russian interference, known as the ICA. Fox News was told that the email chain – not yet public — referred to the dossier as “crown material,” but it was not clear why this apparent code was used. On Tuesday night, former GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy said on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” that “Comey has a better argument than Brennan, based on what I’ve seen.”
But MSNBC show pony and former CIA head spook Brennan begs to differ. “Former Director Brennan, along with former [Director of National Intelligence] James Clapper, are the ones who opposed James Comey’s recommendation that the Steele Dossier be included in the intelligence report,” an official CIA spokesperson said.
“They opposed this because the dossier was in no way used to develop the ICA,” the official continued. “The intelligence analysts didn’t include it when they were doing their work because it wasn’t corroborated intelligence, therefore it wasn’t used and it wasn’t included. Brennan and Clapper prevented it from being added into the official assessment. James Comey then decided on his own to brief Trump about the document.”
OH SNAP. They are turning on each other! Also notice how the statement says the dossier wasn’t corroborated? That further screws Comey because the FBI are the people who presented the dossier to the FISA court, swearing it was true. Ouch.
I am betting that the CIA statement is true: Brennan and Clapper did not want the dossier included in the ICA so they suggested it simply be used an attachment. All they really needed for their “news hook” was the fact that Comey briefed Trump on the dossier claims not that it was specifically included in the ICA. Here is what the “news hook” story from CNN January 10, 2017 says:
The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegations came, in part, from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative, whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible. The FBI is investigating the credibility and accuracy of these allegations, which are based primarily on information from Russian sources, but has not confirmed many essential details in the memos about Mr. Trump.
The real question is who decided Trump should be briefed on the dossier at all? My guess is that Brennan insisted the dossier be included with the ICA, not necessarily in the ICA…”