Sorry @gwb-trading, a late edit before, tiny phone, big hands I corrected to show me normal opp research for a character like Trump vs Steel's which you say is not normal.
Nearly all Opposition Research documents are published publicly. This avoids legal coordination problems with campaigns and PACs. Let's take a look at Opposition Research documents hosted by the National Democratic Party - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - https://dccc.org/races/ Let's take a look at the Opposition Research document for the first opposition candidate listed - Sean Parnell - running as a Republican for Pennsylvania’s 17th. http://2vmhfw1isbe32j3tgn3epw3x-wpe.../uploads/2020/07/Sean-Parnell-Book-ONLINE.pdf Go through this 163 page document and tell me how this proper Opposition Research document is different than the Steele dossier. Or review any of the others found on the DCCC website.
Let's compare Sean Parnell to Donald Trump first so we are doing an apples to apples comparison? Or did you miss that bit about Trump not being a normal candidate and also a presidential candidate vs..Sean Parnell.
Here is the Clinton Campaign Opposition Research on Bernie https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3157291/151101-Sanders-Top-Hits-Thematics.pdf Explain to me why the Clinton campaign had a normal opposition research on Bernie; and funded the Steele dossier on Trump.
Because Bernie is a long standing politician based in the US and Trump is an entirely different candidate and more secretive animal suspected of large scale scandal and crime across the globe? Just a thought.
Curious, I get why this opp research, at least edited key findings are published but does that not open them to the same lawsuits for alleging dirt that Steele is facing? Even worse as they make it outright public. Now we just need to see where the wikileaks (not public) document by Clinton appeared on these sites. I can't do this on the phone, need my computer later.
Before I do anything later do you accept that "opposition books" are high level documents? These are edited and one would expect reasonably vetted, not the low level findings the Steele document is? @gwb-trading If we were to get all the preliminary research dossiers and notes that made these published opposition reports do you not think these would be similar to Steele's findings? Bits and bobs of leads that need developing.
Sorry @gwb-trading spamming a bit but I think one must grasp this, a report and a dossier are not the same thing. A dossier is a collection of information about someone, true or false it does not matter. Its the raw material gathered for further analysis. It might contain some summary akin to a report but it is not really at final report level. A report is an analysis of that stuff. You might start a report saying how you compiled dossiers. Can we also agree on this? I am not being pedantic, when I read Steele dossier I do so with this understanding. Do you agree there is an important distinction? I'll read the dossier tonight to see what is actually was meant to be. Further I recall what was published was a draft dossier.
You can spin the terms Opposition Research and Dossier. Trying to say they are different in the realm of political research simply does not float. Political campaigns should only be involved in legitimate Opposition Research. Political campaigns should not be funding "research" full of all sorts of wild unverified allegations. We will simply have to disagree on this. NONE of the other candidates for the office of President in 2016 had anything similar to the Steele dossier funded and compiled on them.
I'm not spinning, you are conflating terms that should not be conflated and have confused yourself I believe. You are saying the Steel dossier contains stuff that goes far beyond what should be in an opposition report. If it were an opposition report that could be true but its not, it is what opposition reports are made out of. You have the data pyramid/hierarchy upside down. I should also point out to you that your claim that the dossier is entirely a fable is just wrong and you should know this. "Some aspects of the dossier have been corroborated,[19][20] in particular its main allegations that Putin and Russia actively favored Trump over Clinton[21][14] and that many Trump campaign officials and associates had multiple secret contacts with Russians.[22][23]"