With caveats and explanations aplenty, Smith published a 35-page “dossier” — actually just a bunch of scurrilous allegations dressed up as an intelligence report meant to damage Donald Trump. News organizations and government officials have known for months that this information, if it can be called that, existed. Intelligence agencies summarized the “dossier” and included it in material given to Trump and President Obama. “Publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017,” Smith wrote. Richard Tofel, president of ProPublica, praised the decision: “Kudos to @buzzfeedben and his team for publishing the dossier.

Source: Washington Post January 11, 2017 15:17 UTC