Yet the press ran with it. On Sept. 23, 2016, Yahoo News’s Michael Isikoff published a bombshell story under the headline: “U.S. intel officials probe ties between Trump adviser and Kremlin.” Mr. Isikoff said “U.S. officials” had “received intelligence” about Mr. Page and Russians, and then went on to recite verbatim all the unfounded dossier allegations. He attributed all this to a “well-placed Western intelligence source,” making it sound as if this info had come from someone in government rather than from an ex-spy-for-hire.
The Clinton campaign jumped all over it, spinning its own oppo research as a government investigation into Mr. Trump. Jennifer Palmieri, the campaign’s communications director, the next day took to television to tout the Isikoff story and cite “U.S. intelligence officials” in the same breath as Mr. Page. Other Clinton surrogates fanned out on TV and Twitter to spread the allegations.
The Isikoff piece publicly launched the Trump-Russia collusion narrative…
Kim also raised the question whether FISA warrants on figures around the Trump campaign were procured in part on basis of the dossier. She concluded that “it is fair to ask if the entire Trump-Russia narrative—which has played a central role in our political discourse for a year, and is now resulting in a special counsel issuing unrelated indictments—is based on nothing more than a political smear document.” She asked: “Is there any reason to believe the FBI was probing a Trump-Russia angle before the dossier? Is there any collusion allegation that doesn’t come in some form from the dossier?”
Mr. Isikoff (A name that sound Russian) was played like a cheap fiddle. I wonder why he hasn’t divulged the identity of the “U.S. officials” and their “well-placed Western intelligence source,” who suckered him so completely.
“She asked: “Is there any reason to believe the FBI was probing a Trump-Russia angle before the dossier? Is there any collusion allegation that doesn’t come in some form from the dossier?”
Seems to me that the DoJ/FBI/Swamp leadership were coordinating with and advising the Clintons on the creation of the dossier from its inception. I can see people saying, “We can’t get FISA warrants without something to base it on. You guys need to feed us some sort of dossier. Christopher Steele would be good for that.”
Ol' "Spikey" only spikes stories that are damaging to his Democrat Party handlers...
Jennifer "Kellyanne Broke Me" Palmieri, or Jennifer "Kellyanne Beat Me Like A Rented Mule" Palmieri...
Fixed it! :)