The Arizona lawmaker, a longtime
Trump critic, made the public statement as questions piled up about his alleged
role in spreading an unverified
and error-riddled document that Trump has denounced as “a
complete and total fabrication.”
“Late last year, I
received sensitive information that has since been made public,” McCain said.
“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.”
The
Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) helped
fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations
about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between
his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said.
Marc
Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion
GPS, a Washington, D.C., firm, to conduct the research. Fusion GPS hired
dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with
ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community.
Elias
and his law firm, Seattle-based Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016
on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Before that agreement, Fusion
GPS’ research into Trump was funded by a still unknown Republican client during
the GOP primary. Article
