New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait incorrectly claimed Thursday that it was a GOP donor who first funded the Trump dossier.
Chait wrote that Republicans “have developed a theory of alt-collusion to defend Trump from Mueller.” At the center of this Republican-led conspiracy, Chait alleged, is the DNC and Clinton-funded dossier put together by ex-British agent Christopher Steele.
Early on in his piece, Chait incorrectly stated that GOP donors opposed to a Trump presidency first hired Steele to conduct opposition research.
“During the Republican primary, donors opposed to Trump’s candidacy hired Steele to conduct opposition research into Trump. After Trump won the primary, Democrats continued to finance his investigation,” Chait says. “Steele compiled a now-famous dossier alleging a web of corrupt ties, including blackmail, between Trump, his inner circle, and the Kremlin.”
However, Steele was not subcontracted by Fusion GPS until after the GOP-affiliated donor backed out of the contract with the opposition research firm. It wasn’t until after the GOP donor stopped paying and the Democrats stepped in that Steele was retained by Fusion to create the dossier.
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The narrative that Republicans started the funding of the dossier is a common untruth being spread by media outlets. (RELATED: Journos Downplay Trump Dossier Revelations)