Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec and Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr discussed new allegations concerning the Trump campaign's Russia connections that were sourced to British ex-spy Christopher Steele, according to documents made public Wednesday.
The previous month, in October 2016, Kavalec had met with Steele and documented his political motivations in writing -- particularly that Steele's client was "keen" to see his anti-Trump materials "come to light" prior to the election. Kavelec forwarded her written notes, in which she also pointed out that some of Steele's claims were apparently false, to a senior FBI executive.
Despite Kavalec's concerns, the FBI used Steele's information to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page just weeks later. The warrant application did not clearly state that the dossier's creation was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The previous month, in October 2016, Kavalec had met with Steele and documented his political motivations in writing -- particularly that Steele's client was "keen" to see his anti-Trump materials "come to light" prior to the election. Kavelec forwarded her written notes, in which she also pointed out that some of Steele's claims were apparently false, to a senior FBI executive.
Despite Kavalec's concerns, the FBI used Steele's information to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page just weeks later. The warrant application did not clearly state that the dossier's creation was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).