In court documents revealed on Tuesday, former British spy Christopher Steele asserted that the disappearance of two Russian sources was a consequence of Donald Trump’s choice to declassify evidence provided by Steele regarding the ex-president’s alleged connections to Russia.
Steele, a former MI6 officer, emphasized the gravity of the situation characterizing Trump’s decision to declassify his 2017 testimony for Robert Mueller’s investigation as “one of the most egregious breaches of intelligence rules and protocol by the U.S. government in recent times.” According to Steele, “Two of the named Russian sources have not been seen or heard of since.”
Trump, seeking to pursue a data protection lawsuit against Steele’s Orbis Business Intelligence over the unverified “Steele Dossier,” claimed in his own witness statement that he aims to demonstrate the falsity of the accusations, Reuters reports.
The dossier, which implicated Trump’s campaign ties to Russia and alleged compromising behavior, has faced challenges for lack of substantiation, with Trump’s legal team labeling it “egregiously inaccurate.”
Steele, however, suggests Trump’s motivations are rooted in personal animosity, indicating that Trump’s knowledge of Steele’s friendship with Ivanka Trump damaged their relationship and fueled Trump’s “vindictive and vexatious conduct” toward Steele and Orbis.
Trump vehemently denies any relevance of Ivanka to the claim and dismisses such mentions as distracting from the alleged reckless behavior of Steele and Orbis.
