BuzzFeed published 35 pages of damaging, unverified claims against Trump

BuzzFeed on Tuesday published a slew of unverified claims that were contained in a 35-page dossier documenting Russia’s alleged attempts to compromise Donald Trump.

The dossier, which was reportedly compiled by a former British intelligence agent, included unsubstantiated claims that Trump cooperated with Russian officials in operations meant to target his political opponents.

BuzzFeed’s report also notes “graphic claims of sexual acts” that allegedly occurred in Trump’s presence while he was in Russia.

Here are a few of the unverified details contained in the 35-page dossier that BuzzFeed published:

Russian officials allegedly fed Trump information about his political opponents including his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton Russian officials reportedly offered Trump the opportunity to partner in real-estate development deals, which he did not participate in. Trump hired sex workers, according to the report, to perform lewd acts referred to as “golden showers” in a Ritz Carlton presidential suite where President Obama once stayed. “Trump’s unorthodox behavior in Russia over the years,” as the dossier described, provided Russians with information that they could potentially use to blackmail him.

President Barack Obama and Trump were given a briefing about the claims made in the dossier.

BuzzFeed said it published the document in its entirety “so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government.”

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, sent a note to employees on Tuesday explaining the decision:

“As we noted in our story, there is serious reason to doubt the allegations. We have been chasing specific claims in this document for weeks, and will continue to. Publishing this document was not an easy or simple call, and people of good will may disagree with our choice. But publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017.”

Mother Jones’ David Corn came across the reports and included details about them in an October 2016 story, but he said he did not to publish them because he could not confirm the details.

Following the bombshell report, Trump denied its veracity, calling it “fake news” and a “total political witch hunt.”

Read BuzzFeed’s full report here »