Steele believed that the Russians were engaged in the biggest electoral crime in U.S. history.

[Botany]

https://investigaterussia.org/media/2018-03-05/true-story-christopher-steele

The True Story of Christopher Steele

The New Yorker tells the full story of former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele whose memos became the much-discussed Trump dossier.

It's a long read but worth the time. Christopher Burrows is Steele's co-founder in Orbis, a London-based investigative research firm. Glenn Simpson runs Fusion GPS, the Washington, DC strategic intelligence firm that hired Steele to take a closer look at Donald Trump's ties to Russia.

snip

Within a few weeks, two or three of Steele’s long-standing collectors came back with reports drawn from Orbis’s larger network of sources. Steele looked at the material and, according to people familiar with the matter, asked himself, “Oh, my God—what is this?” He called in Burrows, who was normally unflappable. Burrows realized that they had a problem. As Simpson later put it, “We threw out a line in the water, and Moby-Dick came back.”

(...)

Steele believed that the Russians were engaged in the biggest electoral crime in U.S. history, and wondered why the F.B.I. and the State Department didn’t seem to be taking the threat seriously. Likening it to the attack on Pearl Harbor, he felt that President Obama needed to make a speech to alert the country. He also thought that Obama should privately warn Putin that unless he stopped meddling the U.S. would retaliate with a cyberattack so devastating it would shut Russia down.

[poboy2]

1. Existential threat. Code RED. Not a DRILL. Western Democracy hangs in the balance.

No Hyperbole. Do or die.

TREASON. TAKEOVER. They will kill us all.

[FakeNoose]

8. Here's the link to the New Yorker article

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/12/christopher-steele-the-man-behind-the-trump-dossier?mbid=social_twitter

This is a long read, but worth the time, it pulls together many loose threads.

[poboy2]

11. thank you-n/t

[byronius]

18. Agree.

[Iliyah]

2. Russia had inside help.

[Botany]

3. How did McConnell know that by blocking Garland he would have somebody else for SCOTUS ....

.... after the election? And by now I have come to think that there are Russians working
inside Fox News too.

[librechik]

5. looks that way to me too.

[BoneyardDem]

7. I think he was hedging a bet....

[Volaris]

10. There's only 2 reasons you do that tho...

You've gotten really really good at reading the cards (which is possible in his case, he's been around a while and figured what the hell, another chance to shiv the opposition president)
OR
you know in advance which cards are gonna get dealt.

The polls had Hillary up by what? 5-8 overall?
That's seems a pretty risky damn bet...

[NewJeffCT]

21. McConnell's intent was to block Garland indefinitely

if Clinton had won and Republicans held the senate, they never would have voted on Garland. McConnell had said they would have blocked him indefinitely. If Clinton (or Obama) withdrew Garland and put forth somebody else in January of 2017, they would have done the same thing. They would have been perfectly happy keeping the court at 8 seats. McConnell knows that they likely couldn't filibuster a moderate and well spoken judge like Garland because he would have come across as smart, sane and rational for any televised hearing, so the few rational conservatives left in the GOP like Collins, Graham, McCain and a few others would have voted for confirmation.

My hope would be that Clinton would have withdrawn Garland and put forth her own (likely more liberal) nominee and submitted the nomination with the caveat that if a hearing is not scheduled within (say) 30 or 45 days, the Senate is considered to have waived their right to advise and consent on the nomination.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Let us not forget this,

the original Steele Dossier was bought and paid for by a GOP money donor. And when his candidate was defeated in the Primaries,well this same work was picked up by a Democratic leaning donor.

[FakeNoose]

9. Another important point about Christopher Steele

Steele was paid for writing the articles (by collecting info from his MI6 sources) but he had no idea who the client was.

Only GPS Fusion ever met with the client(s) or knew their identities. That much was made clear in the House Intelligence Committee interviews.

[UCmeNdc]

6. K&R

[triron]

12. knr

[Jakes Progress]

13. So, of course, he is attacked by republicans.

So many of them get so much money from the russians and work for them that it is their job to attack someone who tells the truth about it.

So many russian agents in congress.

[Gabi Hayes]

14. Awesome! You can listen to this! I havent gotten my issue in the mail yet.....I should have

Wonder what’s the deal with that......

[Cha]

15. And, Christopher Steele

was right! Damn It!

[poboy2]

16. The man may just be the hero of western democratic civilization.

Could be the greatest non-American hero to America in modern times.

[dalton99a]

17. Kick

[Scurrilous]

19. K&R

[poboy2]

20. .

[triron]

22. knr