“If the FBI receives a credible allegation that there is some effort to co-opt, coerce, direct, covertly on behalf of American power...”
Jim Bourg / Reuters
Former FBI Director James Comey implied Thursday that the now-infamous 36-page dossier contained “credible allegations.” Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) asked, during Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee: “So if you got a 36-page document of specific claims that are out there, the FBI would have to for counterintelligence reasons try to verify anything that might be claimed in there, one, and probably first and foremost is the counterintelligence concerns that we have about blackmail, would that be an accurate statement?” Comey responded, “Yes, if the FBI receives a credible allegation that there is some effort to co-opt, coerce, direct, covertly on behalf of American power, that’s the basis on which a counterintelligence investigation is opened.” Burr continued, “When you read the dossier, what was your reaction given that it was 100 percent directed at the president-elect?” Comey responded, “Not a question I can answer in an open session, Mr. Chairman.”
