Exhibit 66
Christopher Steele Vol. 1
06/18/2018
European Deposition Services
Steele, Christopher Vol. 1 06/18/2018 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Page 3 Mr Christopher Steele
CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ______________________________ : ALEKSEJ GUBAREV, XBT HOLDING : Case No: SA and WEBZILLA, INC : 17-cv-60426-UU : Plaintiffs : : -v: : BUZZFEED, INC and BEN SMITH : : Defendants : ______________________________:
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Videotaped deposition
12 13
of Mr Christopher Steele
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On Monday, June 18th 2018
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1
Mr Christopher Steele
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W LEGAL LIMITED
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47 Red Lion Street
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London WC1R 4PF
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United Kingdom
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Telephone: 020 7220 9139
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Email: steven.loble@wle
[email protected] gal.co.uk
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BY:
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W LEGAL LIMITED
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47 Red Lion Street
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London WC1R 4PF
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United Kingdom
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Telephone: 020 7220 9136
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Email: sonalsachania@wl
[email protected] egal.co.uk
16 Commencing at 9.35 am
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MR STEVEN LOBLE
BY:
MS SONAL SACHANIA
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ONE ESSEX COURT
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Taken at:
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Temple
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15 Old Bailey
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London EC4Y 9AR
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London
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Telephone:
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EC4M 7EF
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Email:
[email protected] [email protected] .uk
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United Kingdom
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Reported by: Miss Pamela Henley
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Page 4 Mr Christopher Steele
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1 2
A P P E A R A N C E S
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MS HANNAH BROWN QC
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Page 2 1
BY:
020 7583 2000
On behalf of the Plaintiffs:
Mr Christopher Steele On behalf of the Defendants:
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DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP
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1251 Avenue of the Americas
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New York, New York 10021
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CIAMPA FRAY-WITZER, LLP
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Telephone:
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20 Park Plaza
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Email:
[email protected] [email protected] om
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Suite 505
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Boston, MA 02116
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Telephone:
617 426 0000
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BLACK SREBNICK KORNSPAN STUMPF
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Email:
[email protected] [email protected]
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201 S Biscayne Boulevard
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Suite 1300
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Miami, Florida 33131
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BY:
MR EVAN FRAY-WITZER
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BY:
212 402 4068
MS KATHERINE M BOLGER
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BOSTON LAW GROUP, PC
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Telephone:
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825 Beacon Street
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Email: rblack@royblack.
[email protected] com
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Suite 20
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Newton Centre, MA 02459
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Telephone:
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MATRIX CHAMBERS
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Email:
[email protected] [email protected]
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Griffin Building
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Gray's Inn
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London WC1R 5LN
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United Kingdom
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Telephone:
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BY:
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25
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BY:
617 928 1800
MR VAL GURVITS
BY:
www.european-depositions.com
305 371 6421
MR ROY BLACK
020 7404 3447 MR ALEX BAILIN QC
Pages 1 - 4
Steele, Christopher Vol. 1 06/18/2018 Page 37
Page 39
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Mr Christopher Steele
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Mr Christopher Steele
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the FCO submission means that this question should
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not be asked.
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submitted to me by my legal team, which were a
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range of different documents, but primarily our
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own pleadings in the English proceedings, and the
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two sealed, I believe, testimonies of Mr Kramer and Mr Bensinger.
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The witness can choose whether to answer.
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A.
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BY MR FRAY-WITZER:
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Q.
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I choose not to answer.
Are you familiar with
Glenn Simpson?
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A.
I reviewed the documents that were
And I reviewed the congressional testimony, I think, to the judiciary committee of
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A.
I am.
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Mr Simpson.
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Q.
Can you tell us who Mr Simpson is?
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reviewed.
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A.
He is the co-owner and co-director
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been submitted. And the orders. Yes.
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of Fusion GPS, an investigative firm based in
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Washington DC.
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Those were the main documents that I
And, of course, the questions that have
Q.
Did you discuss your deposition
with anyone prior to today?
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Q.
When did you first meet Mr Simpson?
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A.
I do not remember exactly when, but
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indicated just now, so my English legal team and
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my American attorney.
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I would say either late 2009, or early 2010.
18 19
Q.
Do you recall the circumstances of
meeting Mr Simpson?
A.
18 19
Q.
Only with the people that I have
Did you discuss your deposition at
all with Mr Simpson?
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A.
I do.
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A.
I did not.
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Q.
And can you tell us what those
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Q.
Did you discuss your deposition at
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were?
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22 A.
I was introduced to him in London
by a British investigator who I already knew.
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Q.
What was the purpose of the
Page 38
3
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A.
I did not.
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Q.
Did you discuss your deposition
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Mr Christopher Steele introduction? A.
1 2
To get to know somebody else in the
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4
sector and potentially to co-operate or do
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5
business in the future.
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with anyone from the Penn Quarter Group?
Page 40
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all with anyone connected to BuzzFeed?
Q.
Prior to working with Mr Simpson or
Mr Christopher Steele A.
I did not.
(Exhibit 4 marked for identification) Q.
Did you discuss your deposition
today with the FCO?
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A.
I did not.
Q.
You are being shown what has been
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Fusion GPS on the matter that is the subject of
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the present proceedings, did you work with
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marked as Exhibit Number 4 to your deposition, can
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Mr Simpson or Fusion GPS on any other matters?
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you tell me if you recognize this document.
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A.
Yes, a number of projects.
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A.
I do.
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Q.
Are you able to tell us in general
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Q.
And can you tell us what this
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terms what those projects were? A.
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I think only in very general terms.
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document is? A.
It is what it says it is, which is
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So the classic due diligence, anti-money
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an intelligence memorandum concerning Russia's
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laundering and strategic advice.
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interference in the 2016 American presidential
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election.
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Q.
Can you tell us what you did to
prepare for your deposition today? A.
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I met twice with my British legal
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Q.
If I refer to this document as the
December memo, would that be acceptable?
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team for about 2 to 3 hours each, and I had a half
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A.
Yes.
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an hour telephone conversation with my US attorney
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Q.
When did you create this document?
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yesterday.
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A.
I believe it was created on the
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Q.
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Did you review any documents in
preparation for today?
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A.
I did.
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Q.
And what documents did you review?
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given date, which is 13th December 2016. Q.
I am sorry, I got ahead of myself,
let me just ask, did you create this document? A.
www.european-depositions.com
I did create this document.
Pages 37 - 40
Steele, Christopher Vol. 1 06/18/2018 Page 41
Page 43
1 2
Q.
Mr Christopher Steele
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If you would turn to the second
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Mr Christopher Steele question.
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page of the document, please, paragraph 3, it
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THE WITNESS:
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begins first with a black bar that is a redaction,
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MR MILLAR:
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and it has:
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first, it would require the consent of the Foreign
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& Commonwealth Office to answer that question in
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"[Redacted] reported that over the
Okay.
There are 2 objections,
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period March to September 2016 a company called
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relation to the period prior to 2009, to the
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XBT/Webzilla and its affiliates had been using
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extent that his answer deals with the period prior
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botnets and porn traffic to transmit viruses,
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to 2009.
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plant bugs, steal data and conduct 'altering
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operations' against the Democratic Party
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understand it, on topic 2 now, the operative words
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leadership.
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in topic 2 are Mr Steele's efforts to verify the
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GUBAROV were involved and he and another hacking
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allegations.
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expert, both recruited under duress by the FSB,
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allegations are in paragraph 3 of the December
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Seva KAPSUGOVICH, were significant players in this
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memorandum that are the basis of the defamation
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operation.
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action in Florida.
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contingency plans for various scenarios to protect
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have been read to my client, and the topic which
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the operation, but in particular what was to be
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we spent a lot of time discussing in the hearings
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done in the event that Hillary CLINTON won the
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in the High Court has been formulated as
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presidency.
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addressing his efforts to verify those
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all cash payments owed were made quickly and
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allegations.
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discreetly and that cyber and other operators were
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stood down/able to go effectively to ground to
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about a particular company or entity prior to that
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cover their traces."
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has nothing to do with his efforts at
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verification.
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Entities linked to one Aleksej
In Prague, COHEN agreed [to]
It was important in this event that
Did I read that correctly?
Page 42
3 4
So one needs to look to see what the
They are very specific.
They
What he may or may not have known
Page 44
1 2
But, secondly, we are, as I
Mr Christopher Steele
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Mr Christopher Steele
I believe so, yes.
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THE EXAMINER:
(Exhibit 5 marked for identification) identification)
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MR FRAY-WITZER:
A.
Q.
You are being shown what has been
US plaintiffs. I would argue that
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knowledge or lack of knowledge of the plaintiffs
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marked as Exhibit Number 5, the witness statement
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in the US action would speak towards verification.
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of Nicola Cain dated 1 December 2018 (sic).
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Whether or not he had any familiarity with these
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A.
That cannot be right.
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entities is relevant to the question of what may
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Q.
2017. Thank you. We have not
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have been done or not done to verify the
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allegations contained in the December memo.
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transported into the future! If you could look at paragraph 18, please.
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It says:
"Paragraphs 18 to 21 of the Defence
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THE EXAMINER:
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MR BLACK:
US defendants.
We support the
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explain that, having received the unsolicited
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timed raw intelligence written up in the December
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memorandum, Mr Steele and Orbis considered that it
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not within topic 2, which concerns efforts to
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had implications for national security of the US
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verify the allegations.
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and the UK and that it needed to be further
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whether to answer.
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analyzed and verified."
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A.
First, did I read that correctly?
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BY MR FRAY-WITZER: Q.
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relevance of the plaintiffs' question. THE EXAMINER:
My opinion is it is
The witness may choose
I choose not to answer.
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A.
You did.
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Q.
Do you agree with that statement?
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will ask the next two questions, prior to
21
A.
I do.
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receiving the unsolicited raw information had you
22
Q.
Prior to receiving the unsolicited
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ever heard of Webzilla?
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raw information that was included in the December
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memo had you ever heard of XBT Holdings?
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A.
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MR MILLAR:
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BY MR FRAY-WITZER:
We object to that
And simply for the record then, I
MR MILLAR:
www.european-depositions.com
Same objection.
Same answer.
Pages 41 - 44
Steele, Christopher Vol. 1 06/18/2018 Page 141
Page 143
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Mr Christopher Steele
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MS EIKHOFF:
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I would say that we
would need probably 14 to 30 days.
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MR GURVITS:
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THE WITNESS:
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MR LOBLE:
2
CERTIFICATE OF WITNESS
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Let us do 20 days. There is a difference
between 20 days and 20 working days.
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1
4 5 6
If we say 4 weeks, 28
days.
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I, Christopher Steele, am the
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witness in the foregoing deposition. I have read
We have a scheduling
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the foregoing deposition and, having made such
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order in the American we have to respect, so we
10
changes and corrections as I desired, I certify
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would need a final copy of it such that we can
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that the transcript is a true and accurate record
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write a summary judgment brief if we needed to, to
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of my responses to the questions put to me on
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include it, right. So today, can we get it by the
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Monday, June 18th 2018.
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end of June?
14
15
week in July. Which is the 6th July.
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MS BOLGER:
16 17
THE WITNESS:
What is the date that
you need it for your review? MS BOLGER: can we agree on July 13th?
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MS EIKHOFF:
And that is assuming
MS BOLGER:
Yes.
That is almost
the 30 days you asked.
20
Christopher Steele Dated this ___________ day of_________ 2018
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Page 144
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Mr Christopher Steele
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THE WITNESS:
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MS EIKHOFF:
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THE EXAMINER:
1
That is fine. That is okay.
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CERTIFICATE OF COURT REPORTER
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Thank you all very
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Mr Steele can be released and can discuss
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do hereby certify that I took the stenotype notes
6
of the foregoing deposition and that the
7
transcript thereof is a true and accurate record
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transcribed to the best of my skill and ability
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much.
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his evidence with anyone he likes. THE VIDEOGRAPHER:
This is the end
8
of the deposition of Christopher Steele.
9
off the record at 1.49.
Going
I, Pamela E Henley, Court Reporter,
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THE COURT REPORTER:
11 12
counsel for, related to, nor employed by any of
the order on the record, I believe you would like
11
the parties to the action in which this deposition
regular delivery?
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was taken, and that I am not a relative or
13
employee of any attorney or counsel employed by
14
the parties hereto, nor financially or otherwise
15
interested in the outcome of the action.
MR FRAY-WITZER:
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THE COURT REPORTER:
Could I get
I further certify that I am neither
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13
15
Signed________________________________
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Page 142
7
18
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that get our copy of the transcript within 7 days.
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16
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Well, how about July,
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That is pushing it a
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MS EIKHOFF:
20
23
15
bit. First week in July.
18 19
Sorry how about the end of the first
Yes, please. And regular
delivery as well?
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MS BOLGER:
Yes.
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MR BLAKE:
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THE COURT REPORTER:
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Regular.
17 Thank you.
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_______________________
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Pamela E Henley
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www.european-depositions.com
Pages 141 - 144
Steele, Christopher Vol. 1 06/18/2018 Page 145 1 2 3
ERRATA
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(Please make any amendments or corrections on the
5
errata sheet and not on the original deposition)
6
CORRECTION
PAGE
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
____________________ ________________ ____
______________
Signature
Date
24 25
www.european-depositions.com
Page 145
Exhibit 76
In the Matter Of: GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED 17-CV-60426-UU
BENJAMIN SMITH
February 08, 2018
Confidential
BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 1
·1 ·2· · · ·IN ·IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ·3· · · · · · SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ·4 ·5· · · ·6· · · ·7· · · ·8· · · ·9· · · 10· · · 11
· ALEKSEJ GUBAREV, XBT HOLDING· HOLDING· ·)Case No. · S.A., AND WEBZILLA, INC.,· INC.,· · · )17-CV-60426· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·) ·)UU · · · · · · · Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs,· · · · · ) · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·) ·) · · · · · ·v ·vs.· · · · · · · · · ·) ·) · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·) ·) · BUZZFEED, INC. AND BEN· BEN· · · · ·) ·) · SMITH,· SMITH,· · · · · · · · · · · · ·) ·) · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·) ·) · · · · · · · Defendants. Defendants.· · · · · ) ·--------------------------------)
12 13· · · · · · ·DEPOSITION ·DEPOSITION OF BENJAMIN SMITH 14· · · · · · · · · New York, New York 15· · · · · · ·Thursday, ·Thursday, February 8, 2018 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24· ·Reported by: · · ·TAMI H. TAKAHASHI, RPR, CSR 25· ·JOB NO. J1400363
800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com
BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 5
·1 ·2· ·B ·B E N J A M I N· N · ·S ·S M I T H, called as a ·3· · · ·witness, ·witness, having been duly sworn by a ·4· · · ·notary ·notary public, was examined and testified ·5· · · ·as ·as follows: ·6· · · · · · · · · · EXAMINATION ·7· ·BY ·BY MR. FRAY-WITZER: ·8· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Good ·Good morning. ·9· · · · A. A.· · ·Good ·Good morning. 10· 10 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·Let ·Let me start by asking you if you 11· 11 · ·have ·have ever been deposed before. 12· 12 · · · · A. A.· · ·No, ·No, I haven't. 13· 13 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·Okay. ·Okay.· · So I'm going to lay out for 14· 14 · ·you ·you some of the ground rules of a deposition. 15· 15 · · · · · · ·The · The first thing is that I will ask 16· 16 · ·you ·you a series of questions.· questions.· Hopefully you'll 17· 17 · ·give ·give a series of answers.· answers.· All of your 18· 18 · ·answers ·answers need to be verbal so head nods, 19· 19 · ·um-hums, ·um-hums, uh-uhs, can't be recorded accurately 20· 20 · ·by ·by the transcriptionist, so I would ask that 21· 21 · ·if ·if you're giving an answer -- yes-or-no 22· 22 · ·answer ·answer that you say "yes" or "no"; if it's a 23· 23 · ·longer ·longer answer, that you give your longer 24· 24 · ·answer ·answer but your answers be verbal. 25· 25 · · · · · · ·Is · Is that okay?
800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer1f YVer1f
BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 77
·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· · · · page 1. ·3· ·BY ·BY MR. FRAY-WITZER: ·4· · · · Q. Q.· · ·So ·So as part of one of your answers ·5· ·here ·here you stated, "I do think before you ·6· ·publish ·publish something, at least, you should not ·7· ·surprise ·surprise people.· people.· And we have a practice here ·8· ·of ·of writing what we call a 'no surprises' ·9· ·letter ·letter to the subject of an investigation 10· 10 · ·that ·that lays out in great, great detail what's 11· 11 · ·in ·in a story.· story.· And then you make sure you slip 12· 12 · ·that ·that under their door, you mail it to them, 13· 13 · ·you ·you e-mail it to them, you send it to their 14· 14 · ·lawyer. ·lawyer.· · It often adds to your reporting. 15· 15 · ·There's ·There's no reason that the subject of a story 16· 16 · ·should ·should be surprised.· surprised.· Maybe there's 17· 17 · ·occasionally ·occasionally a reason, but in most cases, 18· 18 · ·there ·there isn't a reason, and you should test 19· 19 · ·your ·your stronger reporting against their 20· 20 · ·response ·response before you publish, not after." 21· 21 · · · · · · ·Did · Did I read that correctly? 22· 22 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 23· 23 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·Was ·Was it accurately reported that you 24· 24 · ·said ·said that? 25· 25 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes.
800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer1f YVer1f
BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 84
·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Do ·Do you know if you reached out to ·3· ·any ·any of them prior to the publication of the ·4· ·dossier? ·dossier? ·5· · · · A. A.· · ·I ·I don't remember reaching out to ·6· ·any ·any of them about -- specifically about the ·7· ·dossier ·dossier prior to the publication of the ·8· ·dossier. ·dossier. ·9· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Prior ·Prior to the publication of the 10· 10 · ·dossier ·dossier did BuzzFeed consider the impact that 11· 11 · ·publication ·publication would have on its Web traffic? 12· 12 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 13· 13 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·In ·In what way did you consider that? 14· 14 · · · · A. A.· · ·We ·We knew a lot of people would want 15· 15 · ·to ·to read it because it was a very important 16· 16 · ·story. ·story. 17· 17 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·And ·And a lot of people did want to 18· 18 · ·read ·read it; is that correct? 19· 19 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 20· 20 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·How ·How does the story concerning the 21· 21 · ·dossier ·dossier and the publication of the dossier, 22· 22 · ·how ·how was the traffic for that story compared 23· 23 · ·to ·to other stories run by BuzzFeed? 24· 24 · · · · A. A.· · ·It ·It was one of our most-read stories 25· 25 · ·of ·of the year.
800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer1f YVer1f
BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 85
·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Was ·Was it one of the most-read stories ·3· ·since ·since you joined BuzzFeed? ·4· · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. ·5· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Having ·Having widely-read stories is ·6· ·valuable ·valuable to BuzzFeed; is that correct? ·7· · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. ·8· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Having ·Having widely-read stories ·9· ·increases ·increases your ability to sell space to 10· 10 · ·advertisers; ·advertisers; is that correct? 11· 11 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 12· 12 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·There's ·There's a direct financial benefit 13· 13 · ·to ·to BuzzFeed in having well-read stories; is 14· 14 · ·that ·that correct? 15· 15 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 16· 16 · · · · · · ·(The · (The witness was handed a 17· 17 · · · · document.) 18· 18 · · · · · · ·THE · THE WITNESS:· WITNESS:· Thank you. 19· 19 · ·BY ·BY MR. FRAY-WITZER: 20· 20 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·So ·So you're being shown what was 21· 21 · ·marked ·marked yesterday as Exhibit 6. 22· 22 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. 23· 23 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·And ·And can you tell me if you 24· 24 · ·recognize ·recognize this exhibit? 25· 25 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes.
800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer1f YVer1f
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·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· ·conversation ·conversation with him about that specific ·3· ·point. ·point. ·4· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Was ·Was there a reason that the ·5· ·publication ·publication of the dossier couldn't have ·6· ·waited ·waited a short amount of time? ·7· · · · A. A.· · ·Well, ·Well, it did wait a short amount of ·8· ·time. ·time. ·9· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Well, ·Well, CNN published and within at 10· 10 · ·most ·most an hour BuzzFeed published the entire 11· 11 · ·dossier. ·dossier. 12· 12 · · · · A. A.· · ·Yeah. ·Yeah. 13· 13 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·Why ·Why not wait until the next 14· 14 · ·morning? ·morning? 15· 15 · · · · A. A.· · ·It ·It was an incredibly important 16· 16 · ·story ·story that was the central story in the 17· 17 · ·United ·United States of America, where Americans had 18· 18 · ·learned ·learned of the existence of this incredibly 19· 19 · ·important ·important document that had been briefed to 20· 20 · ·two ·two presidents, and we felt that our 21· 21 · ·obligation ·obligation was to report -- to fill out that 22· 22 · ·story ·story to tell people what's going on. 23· 23 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·You ·You didn't want to be scooped? 24· 24 · · · · A. A.· · ·No, ·No, I don't want to be scooped.· scooped.· Do 25· 25 · ·you ·you mean in that context specifically?
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BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 132
·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Yeah. ·Yeah. ·3· · · · A. A.· · ·Sorry. ·Sorry.· · Just rephrase the question. ·4· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Was ·Was one of your concerns that you ·5· ·didn't ·didn't want to be scooped on the publication ·6· ·of ·of the dossier? ·7· · · · A. A.· · ·Yes. ·Yes. ·8· · · · Q. Q.· · ·Next ·Next question in the e-mail reads, ·9· ·"What ·"What is, according to you, the difference 10· 10 · ·between ·between publishing the Trump report without 11· 11 · ·verifying ·verifying it, and publishing a rumor well 12· 12 · ·known ·known in the circles of power?" 13· 13 · · · · · · ·What · What is your response to that 14· 14 · ·question? ·question? 15· 15 · · · · A. A.· · ·Well, ·Well, the dossier had been briefed 16· 16 · ·to ·to the president of the United States, to the 17· 17 · ·president-elect ·president-elect of the United States, was 18· 18 · ·being ·being taken seriously by the high -- most 19· 19 · ·important ·important figures in the American 20· 20 · ·intelligence ·intelligence and law enforcement communities 21· 21 · ·and ·and was affecting the actions of key American 22· 22 · ·officials. ·officials.· · So that's the difference. 23· 23 · · · · Q. Q.· · ·She ·She asks or someone on BuzzFeed 24· 24 · ·France ·France asks, "Did you think about the 25· 25 · ·consequences ·consequences this decision would have on
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BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 164
·1· · · · · · · · CONFIDENTIAL - Smith ·2· · · · · · ·MR. · MR. FRAY-WITZER:· FRAY-WITZER:· I have no further ·3· · · · questions. ·4· · · · · · ·MR. · MR. BLACK:· BLACK:· Okay. ·5· · · · · · ·MR. · MR. SIEGEL:· SIEGEL:· Okay. ·6· · · · · · ·(Time · (Time noted:· noted:· 3:04 p.m.) ·7 ·8 ·9· · · · · · · · · · · · ____________________ ____________________ 10· 10 · · · · · · · · · · · ·BENJAMIN · BENJAMIN SMITH 11 12· 12 · ·Subscribed ·Subscribed and sworn to before me 13· 13 · ·this____ ·this____ day of __________, 2018. 14 15· 15 · _________________________________ ·_________________________________ 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 165
·1 ·2· · · · · · · ·C ·C E R T I F I C A T E ·3· ·STATE ·STATE OF NEW YORK· YORK· · ) ·4· · · · · · · · · · · · : ss. ·5· ·COUNTY ·COUNTY OF NEW YORK· YORK· ·) ·) ·6 ·7· · · · · · ·I, · I, TAMI H. TAKAHASHI, a Notary ·8· · · · Public within and for the State of New ·9· · · · York, do hereby certify: 10· 10 · · · · · · ·That · That BENJAMIN SMITH, the witness 11· 11 · · · · whose deposition is hereinbefore set 12· 12 · · · · forth, was duly sworn by me and that 13· 13 · · · · such deposition is a true record of the 14· 14 · · · · testimony given by the witness. 15· 15 · · · · · · ·I · I further certify that I am not 16· 16 · · · · related to any of the parties to this 17· 17 · · · · action by blood or marriage, and that I 18· 18 · · · · am in no way interested in the outcome 19· 19 · · · · of this matter. 20· 20 · · · · · · ·IN · IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto 21· 21 · · · · set my hand this 13th day of February 22· 22 · · · · 2018. 23 24· 24 · · · · · · · · · · · · _____________________ _____________________ 25· 25 · · · · · · · · · · · ·TAMI · TAMI H. TAKAHASHI
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BENJAMIN SMITH· SMITH· Confidential GUBAREV vs BUZZFEED
February 08, 2018 169
·1· · · · · · · ·DEPOSITION ·DEPOSITION ERRATA SHEET ·2 ·3· ·Our ·Our Assignment No.:· No.:· J1400363 ·4· ·Case ·Case Caption:· Caption:· Gubarev v. BuzzFeed ·5 ·6· · · ·DECLARATION ·DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY ·7 ·8· · · · · · ·I ·I declare under penalty of perjury ·9· ·that ·that I have read the entire transcript of my 10· 10 · ·Deposition ·Deposition taken in the captioned matter or 11· 11 · ·the ·the same has been read to me, and the same is 12· 12 · ·true ·true and accurate, save and except for 13· 13 · ·changes ·changes and/or corrections, if any, as 14· 14 · ·indicated ·indicated by me on the DEPOSITION ERRATA 15· 15 · ·SHEET ·SHEET hereof, with the understanding that I 16· 16 · ·offer ·offer these changes as if still under oath. 17· 17 · · · · · · · · · · · · _______________________ · _______________________ 18· 18 · · · · · · · · · · · · ·BENJAMIN ·BENJAMIN SMITH 19· 19 · ·Subscribed ·Subscribed and sworn to on the ____ day of 20· 20 · ___________, ·___________, 20 ____ before me. 21· 21 · _______________________________ ·_______________________________ 22· 22 · ·Notary ·Notary Public, 23· 23 · ·in ·in and for the State of 24· 24 · _________________________. ·_________________________. 25
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