WASHINGTON (CN) – Sen. John McCain confirmed that he was
responsible for giving a dossier to the FBI containing allegations of secret
communications between President-elect Donald Trump and Russia.
The Republican from Arizona said in a statement that last year he “received sensitive
information that has since been made public. Upon examination of the contents,
and unable to make a judgment about their accuracy, I delivered the information
to the director of the FBI. That has been the extent of my contact with the FBI
or any other government agency regarding the issue.”
The dossier, which was originally published by BuzzFeed late
Tuesday night, came with caveats that it was “unverified” or “potentially
unverifiable.” The online news outlet reported that it was compiled by a former
British counterintelligence official who now works in the private sector as a
consultant.
Trump has been in Moscow for a Miss Universe pageant.
The 35-page unverified report is also said to contain a host of
unsavory accusations about the President-elect’s financial dealings.
During his first press conference in six months, Trump bristled
for several minutes over the dossier’s contents, calling its author “sick” and
that the claims “didn’t happen.”
The report is also said to contain incriminating allegations of
shady transactions and favors exchanged between the billionaire businessman and
contacts in Russia.
Trump is alleged to have declined real estate deals offered to
him in Russia, and that he and members of his inner circle have regularly accepted
a flow of intelligence from Russia on his political rivals, including those in
the Democratic party.
Though McCain has made no comment about the validity of the
report’s contents, it set off enough alarms for him to seek out the FBI.
The report is also said to contain information suggesting that
Russia had enough dirty laundry on Trump to blackmail him at their leisure and
that the lewd act with Russian hookers was recorded on video without his
knowledge.
The reports allegedly contain errors including a false
description of the Moscow city Barvikha, and the spelling of a Russian bank.
FBI Director James Comey has faced intense scrutiny by members
of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Comey was cagey with senators during his hearing, declining to
answer questions about whether or not the FBI was investigating Donald Trump’s
connections with Russia during the lead-up to the November election.
He was asked directly if he had any evidence that Trump had been
in touch with Russian officials, to which he said, “I would never comment on
investigations, whether we have one or not, in an open forum like this.”
STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON RECENT REPORTS
STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON RECENT REPORTS
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement on recent news reports:
“Late last year, I received sensitive information that has since been made public. Upon examination of the contents, and unable to make a judgment about their accuracy, I delivered the information to the Director of the FBI. That has been the extent of my contact with the FBI or any other government agency regarding this issue.”
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