Trump-Russia dossier originally commissioned by 'unknown GOP donor' then funded by Clinton and DNC: report

The infamous dossier alleging collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and officials from the Russian government was funded by an unknown Republican client during the GOP primary, then by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee, the Washington Post reports.

The research firm Fusion GPS—which commissioned former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele to investigate ties between Trump and Russia—was originally bankrolled by a Republican client, and was later hired by Marc E. Elias, a lawyer for the Clinton campaign and DNC.

The unidentified Republican donor began funding the firm’s research during the Republican presidential primaries. Clinton and the DNC funded Fusion GPS’ research until just days before election day. After the election, the FBI agreed paid Steele to continue gathering information about Trump and Russia, according to the Post.

The dossier is reportedly being used as a “roadmap” for multiple federal and Congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. It’s unclear how much of the dossier’s contents—which were published by BuzzFeed less than two weeks before Trump’s inauguration—were made known to people within the Clinton campaign.

New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel on Tuesday wrote on Twitter that when he originally tried to report the story, Elias "pushed back vigorously."