Conservative website first paid Fusion GPS for Trump research

A conservative publication said Friday it paid a Washington research firm to start probing Donald Trump’s background — a move that set in motion a chain of events leading to the explosive dossier alleging ties between Trump associates and Russia.

In a statement, the Washington Free Beacon said it retained Fusion GPS to provide research on multiple Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential election. Two people familiar with billionaire GOP donor Paul Singer said he provides financial support to the publication. A spokesman for Singer’s firm, Elliott Management, did not respond to requests seeking comment.

The Free Beacon said its research ended before Fusion GPS hired a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, to produce a series of reports alleging links between Russia and those close to Trump. That occurred after the firm was retained by a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/conservative-website-first-paid-fusion-gps-for-trump-research/2017/10/27/ee05c1d6-bb6f-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_dossier-810pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.16eb0115430c