Report: Ivanka Trump Was Friends With Russia Dossier Author

A bombshell from the report on the roots of the Russia investigation: British spy Christopher Steele, who compiled the controversial Trump Russia dossier, told investigators that it was "ridiculous" to think he was biased against President Trump, because he had "been friendly" with a Trump family member. Sources tell the Washington Post that the Trump in question was Ivanka Trump. Steele first met Trump's eldest daughter in 2007 and they remained in touch over the years, with Steele repeatedly discussing the possibility of the Trump Organization assisting his business, Orbis Business Intelligence, with projects in Russia and elsewhere, the sources say.

The Justice Department inspector general's report states that Steele told investigators "if anything he was 'favorably disposed' towards the Trump family before he began his research." The report states that Steele said he had met with the Trump family member at Trump Tower and given them a family tartan from Scotland. Trump attacked Steele as "dopey" and a "failed spy" after he was identified as the dossier author, but neither the president nor any of his relatives disclosed any connections to him, ABC reports. CNN notes that the inspector general's report states that FBI investigators were unable to verify much of Steele's dossier, including claims of "perverted sexual acts," but he has been proved right about the claim that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election. (More Ivanka Trump stories.)