The ‘disturbing’ truth about corporate intelligence, Christoper Steele and his ‘dossier’ about Donald Trump and Russia

World of private intelligence has been utterly transformed, author Barry Meir tells Andrew Buncombe

Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin (AFP via Getty Images)

In the months immediately before and after the US election of 2016, word was going round a small circle of people in Washington DC about extraordinary allegations being made about Donald Trump.

Among the accusations being shared with a small group of reporters was that the former reality TV star had deep ties to the Russian state, which had been seeking to influence the election in his favour. It was alleged Russia had compromising material about Trump – kompromat – among it a video of the soon-to-be-sworn in president engaging in sex acts with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013, and having them urinate on a bed where Barack Obama had once slept.

After Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential race that November, Obama and Trump were briefed about the accusations by the intelligence services; Trump described the claims as “phoney” and said he was the victim of fake news.