Buzzfeed wins Steele dossier defamation lawsuit

someoneyouknow

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A federal judge ruled Wednesday [December 19] that the news organization was protected in the court system from accusations of defamation because high-ranking government officials took action to vet the dossier and speak to Trump and then-President Barack Obama about it before it was made public.

In short, the dossier was newsworthy, the judge found.

"When we published the Steele Dossier in 2017, we were met with outrage from many corners -- a major news anchor and President Trump both deemed it 'fake news'; and several Russian businessmen, plus Michael Cohen, sued for defamation," [BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben] Smith said. "As we have said from the start, a document that had been circulating at the highest levels of government, under active investigation by the FBI, and briefed to two successive presidents, is clearly the subject of 'official action.' Moreover, its publication has contributed to the the American people's understanding of what is happening in their country and their government."

The dossier is actually comprised of 17 memos from former British spy Christopher Steele. Steele was first hired by Fusion GPS at the behest of a conservative Republican looking for information on the con artist. Only later was Fusion GPS then hired by Democrats to find the same information.

While parts of the dossier have yet to be verified, several items have been independently confirmed through other sources.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/politics/buzzfeed-russia-dossier/index.html
 
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