I was “retired” (yes, I know there is no such thing as a “ghost ex”), so technically no.
The paper justification for opening Crossfire was the information provided by the Australians (ie Downer) about Papadopoulos. For years, this matter has been blown out of proportion to be a “sufficient factual basis” for the investigation. Even so, the GP’s earlier version of the story was ridiculous and difficult to accept as a reason for the investigation. Even if you allow it as shown, Crossfire should have been shut down within a few months at most.
The Durham Report has released the full background on the story of the GP who has been buried. At this point, I don’t think anyone can really say there was a basis for Crossfire (some personalities on the left will say so, but they’re just speaking to an echo chamber).
While the Steele dossier was not the “paper” reason for opening the investigation, it was probably the real one, and in any case served as justification for the infamous FISA warrants against the Trump campaign and the ‘acceptance of research by the public. Almost everything you heard in the news at the end of 2016 is what was in the Dossier.
The actual money trail of the Dossier was Clinton Campaign -> Campaign Law Firm (Perkins Coie) -> US Research Firm (Fusion GPS) -> British Research Firm (Orbis) -> “old ” British spy (Steele). It is likely that some of this money was funneled back to the main sub-source who was a Russian-American citizen in the DC think tank circuit (Danchenko). Danchenko was also paid with taxpayer money through the FBI as CHS.
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