Here Is the First Error We Found in the Nunes Memo and It Didn’t Take Us Long

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Bill Clark/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom via ZUMA Press

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It didn’t take Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn long to find the first error in the four-page memo released by House Republicans Friday afternoon. Corn (who is cited in the Nunes memo) was the first to report on the existence of what’s become known as the Steele dossier, before the election—but House Republicans aren’t sure when:

Hey, Nunes and Co., it was October 31. Sloppy? pic.twitter.com/tWjeKftMF0

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 2, 2018

Here’s how David recalls breaking the big scoop:

I wrote a story—after confirming Steele’s bona fides—and emphasized that the FBI had requested information from him and apparently was investigating the allegations his memos contained. It was published on October 31, just a week before the election. (I did report that Steele’s research was being funded by a Democratic source. This week we learned that it was a law firm that had been working for the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign.)

The story drew a measure of attention, but it never gained traction in the major media. American voters ended up hitting the polls with the Russia matter far lower on the list of major campaign issues than Hillary Clinton’s email server troubles—especially after FBI director James Comey revived that controversy 11 days before the election. [My emphasis.]

Read more about the memo in our breaking news coverage, here.