The general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Marc Elias, is accused of helping organize funding from the campaign to fund the research firm Fusion GPS that helped pay for the anti-Trump dossier.
The same dossier that launched allegations about the president ranging from Russian collusion to “golden showers.”
The claims came from an anonymous source speaking to The Washington Post. IN the report, The Washington Post reports that the Hillary Clinton campaign, through their attorney Elias and the Democratic National Committee, allegedly “helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier.” Trump has denied the allegations behind the dossier. Meanwhile, Fusion GPS has refused to release details of who funded their sources.
Washington Post: Marc Elias was the bridge connecting the Hillary Clinton campaign to Fusion GPS and the Trump Dossier
The Washington Post cited anonymous people familiar with the dossier, reporting “Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research. After that, Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community, according to the people. Elias and his law firm, Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016 on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC.”
The post included that a source said Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee might not have been aware of the Fusion GPS investigation. However, Elias did reportedly receive the report. The newspaper reported, “At no point, these people said, did the Clinton campaign or the DNC direct Steele’s activities. They described him as a Fusion GPS subcontractor.”
Following the report, Marc Elias retweeted a post on Twitter that shared a Wall Street Journal story with the title, “Former Trump campaign manager Manafort under investigation by Manhattan U.S. attorney for possible money laundering.”
What is the Trump Dossier?
The dossier contained information with unverified allegations about President Trump. It was released on January 10, 2017, less than two weeks before Donald Trump became President. Republicans initially funded the company’s efforts, but after the Republican primary was over, Democrats financed the investigation – The Washington Post alleging Clinton’s campaign and the DNC funded the dossier.
The dossier claimed, without offering evidence, that Russian government officials have blackmail on Trump, and his campaign maintained ties with Russia during the elections.
Who is Marc Elias?
According to New York Times reporter Ken Vogel, Elias “vigorously” denies his involvement in the Trump dossier. Vogel wrote on Twitter, “When I tried to report this story, Clinton campaign lawyer @marceelias pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Maggie Haberman, of the New York Times, shared the Post bombshell story and wrote on Twitter, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”
New York Times reporter, Anita Dunn reports, Elias was familiar with some of the information in the dossier. But, she says “he didn’t have and hadn’t seen the full document, nor was he involved in pitching it to reporters.”
Marc Elias held a significant role in the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. According to Freebeacon, the Washington D.C. attorney is described as the go-to person “When Democratic campaigns across the country have major problems, their go-to fixer is super-lawyer Marc Elias.”
According to Perkins Coie law firm that Marc Elias works for, “Elias is the chair of Perkins Coie’s Political Law practice. His practice focuses on representing public officials, candidates, parties, corporations, tax-exempt organizations and Political Action Committees (PACs) in connection with campaign finance, governmental ethics, lobbying disclosure and white-collar criminal defense matters. His clients include numerous FORTUNE 500 corporations, national nonprofit organizations, lobbying firms, Am Law 100 law firms, prominent individuals, candidates, and campaigns.”
Outside of working on Hillary Clinton and Kerry campaigns, Elias has also worked with other major Democratic political organizations. “Marc is currently general counsel to Hillary for America, the presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He served in the same role for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. Marc’s clients include the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Governors Associations and U.S. senators, governors, representatives and their campaigns.”
Elias’ biography describes him as a proponent of significant pieces of legislation and regulations. As a “nationally recognized authority in the Federal Election Campaign Act, Lobbying Disclosure Act, Ethics in Government Act and Foreign Agents Registration Act,” and “a preeminent counselor in the areas of congressional and executive branch ethics and gift rules, and federal and state pay-to-play laws and rules.”
According to the Elias’ biography he “also advises and litigates claims under the Voting Rights Act, Help America Vote Act and National Voter Registration Act. Marc has litigated voting and campaign finance cases throughout the country in federal and state court. He has been involved in voting rights and/or redistricting litigation in a number of states, including Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, and Minnesota.”
Marc Elias has a long working history with the Democrats. According to his law firm’s bio, Marc was appointed by the DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz to ” identify places where the party can strengthen and improve operations in future elections.” Elias also worked as lead counsel for Senator Al Franken in the 2008 Minnesota election recount and contest, which is the largest recount and contest in American contest, according to his biography. “He successfully argued the case before the Minnesota State Supreme Court, which resulted in a unanimous decision affirming that Franken had received the highest number of votes legally cast in the 2008 general election for U.S. Senator.”