Christopher Steele, a former officer in the British intelligence agency MI6, was the person responsible for creating the dossier of explosive allegations about President-elect Donald Trump's ties to Russia, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The 35-page report contained unverified claims about Trump's activities in Russia and campaign coordination with Kremlin officials. Steele's findings were apparently based on conversations he had had with Russian intelligence sources.
Steele is a director of London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd., a private security and investigations firm. He is 52 years old. He has a good reputation in the intelligence community and spent years stationed in Russia, according to the Journal.
Former British intelligence professionals founded Orbis in 2009, according to the Journal. It carries out "intelligence-gathering operations" and "complex, often cross-border investigations." Corporations often use firms like Orbis for research on business partners.
Trump denied the allegations contained in Orbis' report, which was financed by anti-Trump Republicans.
Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.
