Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has no remorse for notifying the FBI about the so-called Trump dossier and said he “did what duty demanded I do” in sharing the information, according to excerpts from his upcoming memoir.
McCain writes that he gave former FBI Director James Comey “sensitive information,” which he obtained from an associate, David Kramer, a former State Department official. Kramer traveled to London in November 2016 where he retrieved a copy of the Trump dossier, according to previous reporting. The document was composed by former British spy Christopher Steele.
Kramer provided a copy of the dossier to McCain, who then gave it Comey. However, the FBI had already received a copy from Steele, who reportedly had sent the agency the dossier in installments starting in July 2016.
“I discharged that obligation, and I would do it again,” McCain said, per excerpts from “The Restless Wave” published by the Guardian. “Anyone who doesn’t like it can go to hell.”
Some aspects of the dossier — like communications between foreign nationals — have been confirmed by officials; however, the majority of the scandalous allegations tying Trump to Russia have not been verified.
Steele was hired by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm. Last year, the Washington Examiner reported that over the summer of 2016, the firm was retained by lawyer Mark Elias, who represented the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
McCain was diagnosed last summer with a form a brain cancer known as glioblastoma and has received chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He has remained in his home state of Arizona since December, where he is recovering from treatment.
His memoir is set to be released later this month.
