Former MI6 Spy Steele Breaks Silence, Takes Veiled Swipe At Trump - Reports

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published October 10, 2018 | 10:10 PM

Former British spy Christopher Steele, who authored an unverified dossier on US President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia, has broken his 18-month silence to take a thinly veiled swipe at the American leader, media reports said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th October, 2018) Former British spy Christopher Steele, who authored an unverified dossier on US President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia, has broken his 18-month silence to take a thinly veiled swipe at the American leader, media reports said on Wednesday.

Steele sent an email to the editor of Vanity Fair after the magazine choose him to be on its list of the 100 most influential people in the media, politics, entertainment and finance, Sky News reported, adding that it had obtained a copy of the email.

According to the report, Steele wrote in his email that "in these strange and troubling times, it is hard to speak unpalatable truths to power." However, he said, "we all still have a duty to do so."

The former British spy highlighted the key role of the media in holding authorities accountable at a time when "governance is so distorted and one-sided." He said he was unable to travel to the US now due to deep political divisions over the Russia probe, adding that he hopes to visit the country "in more normal times.

Steele questioned the magazine's decision to include certain "other foreign nationals" on its list, but did not identify those individuals by name.

Vanity Fair placed Steele in 38th position on its list. Russian President Vladimir Putin came in at 58th place, while Trump did not appear on the list at all.

Steele, the former MI6 officer, was hired by the US research firm Fusion GPS to investigate Trump's alleged ties to Russia as part of the Democratic Party's opposition research during the 2016 election. The dossier contained unverified allegations that Trump participated in activities that could make him vulnerable to Russian blackmail attempts. The White House has firmly rejected the allegations and Trump has dismissed the dossier as "fake news."