FusionGPS Is Still "Researching" RUSSIA Collusion, and a Former Dianne Feinstein Aide Might Be Working for Them

Sean Davis of the Federalist reports:

New evidence suggests that a former top staffer for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) may be directing the post-election efforts of Fusion GPS, a Democrat-linked political opposition research firm, to vindicate a series of memos alleging illegal collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Congressional documents and recently leaked texts between Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and a registered foreign agent for a Russian aluminum oligarch indicate that Daniel J. Jones is intimately involved with ongoing efforts to retroactively validate a series of salacious and unverified memos produced by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent, and Fusion GPS. The dossier, which declassified documents show was used as a basis for securing secret wiretaps on Trump campaign affiliates, was reportedly jointly funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

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Jones did not respond to requests by The Federalist to describe the extent of his work with Fusion GPS or Steele. Representatives of Fusion GPS also refused to respond to requests for information on the firm's work with Jones and Penn Quarter Group [Jones' own firm-- ace].

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Prior to founding Penn Quarter group, Jones spent nearly nine years working on Capitol Hill, where he was one of Feinstein's top investigators on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He also worked at the FBI from 2003 to 2007 and did a short stint working for a lobbying firm run by former Democratic Senate leader Tom Daschle, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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A January 8 New York Times profile of Glenn Simpson, the Fusion GPS exec who ran the dossier operation during the 2016 campaign, confirmed that the secretive research company’' dossier-related work continued after the election and was ongoing through 2018.

"But the work has not stopped," the paper noted in the profile. "Fusion continues to look into ties between Mr. Trump and Russia, according to several people briefed on the research. Mr. Simpson's specific areas of focus, and information about any current benefactors, are closely guarded." When asked point-blank by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) last November whether he was still being paid to work on anything related to the dossier, Simpson refused to answer.

Sean Davis wants to know if Jones had any contact with Feinstein about Fusion's work through the past year and a half and, if so, if she disclosed that to the committee as a possible conflict of interest.

And remember: It was Feinstein who unilaterally leaked a transcript of Simpson's testimony in the Senate, which, for some reason I couldn't possibly guess at, had the names of Fusion employees all redacted even though that information is easily discoverable by public searches.

posted by Ace at 12:26 PM

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