Fusion GPS, the Washington opposition research firm, paid former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele’s company, Orbis Business Intelligence, $168,000 for work on the so-called “Trump dossier” that contained scandalous material tying President Trump to Russia, the group said in a statement.
It had not been previously disclosed how much the dossier cost, Reuters reported. Trump tweeted last week that the dossier had cost up to $12 million, but didn’t cite any evidence backing up his claim.
“Never seen such Republican ANGER & UNITY as I have concerning the lack of investigation on Clinton made Fake Dossier (now $12,000,000?),….” Trump tweeted on Sunday.
Fusion GPS, a Washington opposition research firm, was hired by lawyer Mark Elias, who represented the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee to oversee the research, the Washington Post first reported. Fusion GPS then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who authored the dossier.
Elias and Perkins Coie, his law firm, hired Fusion GPS in April 2016. Fusion GPS had already been conducting research on Trump during the Republican primaries for the conservative Washington Free Beacon, the Washington Examiner reported.
The Clinton campaign and the DNC financed Fusion GPS’s research up until just days before the Nov. 8 election.
Some aspects of the dossier — like communications between foreign nationals noted in the dossier — have been confirmed by officials; however, the majority of the scandalous allegations included in the document have not been verified.
The dossier came to light publicly after it was published in full by Buzzfeed in January.
