Sundance – In the past several days a name has resurfaced, only this time with some more attention than in prior reports.  The name is Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who is likely much more of a central figure than previously explained.

Byron York recently outlined new documents showing the communication between Trump Dossier author Christopher Steele and DOJ official Bruce Ohr.  Within the early 2016 discussions, Chris Steele appeared to be advocating to Bruce Ohr on behalf of Oleg Deripaska who was banned from travel into the U.S. by the State Department.

(Byron York) Emails in 2016 between former British spy Christopher Steele and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr suggest Steele was deeply concerned about the legal status of a Putin-linked Russian oligarch, and at times seemed to be advocating on the oligarch’s behalf, in the same time period Steele worked on collecting the Russia-related allegations against Donald Trump that came to be known as the Trump dossier. The emails show Steele and Ohr were in frequent contact, that they intermingled talk about Steele’s research and the oligarch’s affairs, and that Glenn Simpson, head of the dirt-digging group Fusion GPS that hired Steele to compile the dossier, was also part of the ongoing conversation. (more)

I strongly urge you to read the York article because I’m going to expand on the Deripaska angle from the context of the reader understanding it. Continue reading →