[The Hill] Current and past leaders of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) say they had no knowledge that the national party was helping to fund a dossier compiled by a British spy that contained scandalous accusations about President Trump.The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC paid millions to the law firm Perkins Coie, where Democratic lawyer Marc Elias worked with the opposition research firm Fusion GPS to construct the memo, which was compiled by British spy Christopher Steele.
The memo is at the center of several investigations into Russian meddling and it may have been used by the FBI as part of its investigation into allegations that Trump campaign officials had improper contacts with Russian officials. Former FBI Director James Comey has said none of the allegations in the memo have been verified.
The bombshell Washington Post report has emboldened President Trump, who on Wednesday lashed out at the "fake dossier" and described it as the cornerstone of "the whole Russia hoax."
DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa said chairman Tom Perez, who only became the Democratic leader in April, had nothing to do with the arrangement. The law firm Perkins Coie handles a range of issues for the DNC.
"Tom Perez and the new leadership of the DNC were not involved in any decision-making regarding Fusion GPS, nor were they aware that Perkins Coie was working with the organization," Hinojosa said. "But let’s be clear, there is a serious federal investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and the American public deserves to know what happened."