BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith justifying his decision to publish the so-called Trump dossier one year after making it public, saying that it was a legitimate decision just by nature of what the largely unsubstantiated document has affected in the aftermath.
In a column for the New York Times, Smith said Tuesday night that he’s “proud” BuzzFeed published the salacious dossier.
“But a year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news,” he wrote. “That’s a fact that has been tacitly acknowledged even by those who opposed our decision to publish. It has helped journalists explain to their audience the investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 election. And Mr. Trump and his allies have seized on the dossier in their efforts to discredit the special counsel leading the investigation, Robert Mueller.”
BuzzFeed published the document in its entirety in 2016 just days before Trump was sworn into office. The news outlet was widely criticized for making the dossier public, given its reliance on anonymous sources, many of whom have been subsequently found to work for the Russian government, and the numerous unfounded claims about Trump’s personal life.
The document, which was in part funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, has served as some basis for the ongoing investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion between the Kremlin and Trump’s campaign.
The dossier had been passed around Washington before its publication and the FBI possessed a copy as well.
“I haven’t had a single person approach me to say, ‘I wish I hadn’t read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America,'” Smith wrote in the op-ed. “Do you feel that way? Does anyone?”
