Report: John Podesta Met With Fusion GPS Head After Release Of Trump Dossier

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta met with the founder of the opposition research firm behind the Trump dossier just after the dirty document was published earlier this year, according to a new report in The New York Times.

The revelation is significant because Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, recently told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he did not know who paid the research firm, Fusion GPS, to produce the dossier, which BuzzFeed published on Jan. 10.

An associate of Podesta’s told The Times that he met with Glenn Simpson, the founding partner of Fusion GPS, to compare notes about Russia’s meddling in the election.

Podesta’s associate told The Times that Simpson was considering whether his firm should continue its investigation of Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.

The Times report does not say whether Podesta and Simpson discussed the Clinton campaign’s involvement in the dossier project.

Less than two weeks after Democratic mega-lobbyist Tony Podesta stepped down from his firm amid questions over its foreign work, one of Washington’s most prominent lobbying shops is unraveling as its employees try to reconstitute under new leadership.

Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Fritts told employees Thursday afternoon she is working on launching a new firm that would take many of Podesta’s staff and clients with her, said two people familiar with the meeting. She told employees they shouldn’t expect a paycheck past Nov. 15, the people said.

It was not an entirely unexpected moment for the 30-year-old firm after Podesta’s sudden resignation Oct. 31, when he announced he was stepping down following an indictment issued against Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort by U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller.