The controversial, unverified dossier compiled by Christopher Steele appears to have at least some corroborating evidence, according to a new report. The document placed former Trump attorney Michael Cohen at a meeting with Russian officials in Prague in the summer of 2016, purportedly discussing issues related to President Donald Trump‘s campaign. While Cohen vehemently denied being there, cell phone data indicates otherwise, according to new report from McClatchy DC.
The report cites four sources who learned from “foreign intelligence connections” that records placed a cell phone linked to Cohen in the Prague area. Two sources stated that around the same time that the phone was in that area, Eastern European intelligence officials intercepted a Russian communication that referenced Cohen being in Prague.
This information has reportedly already been turned over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s office, with whom Cohen has been cooperating. It is unknown whether Cohen discussed this or maintained his denial of being in Prague, although McClatchy had reported back in April that Mueller already had evidence that Cohen had been there.
Attorney Lanny Davis told the news outlet earlier this week that Cohen was never there, saying the former Trump fixer “has said one million times he was never in Prague.” Davis reiterated, “He’s never been to Prague. … He’s never been to the Czech Republic.”
The Special Counsel’s Office declined to comment on the new information.
The cell phone data is significant because it lends at least a degree of credence to the Steele Dossier, which Trump supporters claim was improperly used to acquire a warrant for surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as part of the FBI’s investigation of Russian election interference. The FBI has never publicly verified the contents of the dossier, and therefore critics of the ongoing Russia probe point to it as evidence that the investigation was compromised early on.
Update: Michael Cohen has responded to the report.
[Image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
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