"In August 2018, I laid out six specific false claims made in the dossier that would have led Democrats or the FBI to take action counter to their own interests: Russians hadn't had success hacking targets like Hillary Russians were planning to leak dated FSB intercepts rather than recent stolen emails Misattribution of both what the social media campaign included and who did it, blaming Webzilla rather than Internet Research Agency"
" Carter Page, not George Papadopoulos or Roger Stone, was one key focus of Russian outreach Russia had grown to regret the operation in August, when instead they were planning the next phase Michael Cohen was covering up Trump's funding of the hackers rather than Trump's sexual scandals and an improbably lucrative business deal Also in August 2018, I laid out the specific risk that Oleg Deripaska, who had influence over both Christopher Steele and Paul Manafort at the time, could have been manipulating both sides."
The Steele dossier appears to have contained Russian disinformation that created a feedback loop amplifying the Alfa Bank and Michael Cohen allegations. The dossier fostered complacency among Democrats after the May–June 2016 hacks by suggesting Russians had not successfully stolen recent emails and that existing kompromat were dated FSB intercepts. The dossier also misattributed elements of the social-media campaign, shifted emphasis to Carter Page over other outreach targets, and falsely suggested Russian regret and alternative motives for leaks. Those false claims could have led investigators to take actions contrary to U.S. interests. Oleg Deripaska is identified as a plausible manipulator with influence over key intermediaries.
Read at Emptywheel
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