Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team said that the actions of ex-British spy Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier that contains unverified claims about President Trump’s ties to Russia, do not “remotely compare” to those of a Russian company’s in the 2016 elections.
“Acting as an anonymous source for media articles is not similar to conducting ‘information warfare against the United States of America,’” Mueller’s team wrote in a document filed on Friday and reported by Politico on Monday.
The document comes in response to the Russian company Concord Management, charged earlier this year by Mueller for using fake U.S. social media profiles in an attempt to harm “the lawful functions of the United States government,” which complained last month that the firm had been singled out while others like Steel had remained unscathed.
The dossier contains salacious information about President Trump and his relationship with Russia, and it played a role in obtaining surveillance warrants for the U.S. government to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Concord’s lawyers noted Steele contacted with members of the media to talk about his work for the dossier and his communications with the Justice Department — leading to the FBI cutting him as a source — but Mueller’s team said they failed to describe how Steele’s actions would “implicate” government operations.
“Indeed, Concord does not even attempt to suggest how this individual’s conduct would implicate the lawful functions of any government agencies,” Mueller’s team wrote.
President Trump and Republicans have regularly questioned the credibility of the Russia investigation, specifically how much the dossier — which was paid for by Democrats — was used by top federal law enforcement officials.
Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
