The Russia Hoax In Tweets
It's interesting that the Russia Hoax is getting attention again, with liberals starting to admit that, yeah, it really was all bullsh*t. Part of that is a result of the new book out by Barry Meier that exposes lots about the the private intel business--and the Steele/Fusion GPS op in particular. I'm presenting a series of self explanatory tweets below. The common theme for most of them is the importance of the January 6, 2017, ICA. That's correct in the important sense that the ICA was a major factor in allowing the media to talk freely about the hoax.
One area concerning which I disagree with McIntyre, however, is his contention that the "Carter Page FISA has been Look Squirrel distraction." Here's how that works. Without the Steele "dossier" there's no Crossfire Hurricane. Forget about Downer and Papadopoulos. That would've gone nowhere in an investigative sense on its own. Crossfire Hurricane needed a FISA to have any real credibility as an investigation, and the Carter Page FISA obviously provided that part of the hoax story--something that Papadopoulos couldn't do for CH. Here's the important point--without CH and the FISA you get NO TEAM MUELLER. For a Special Counsel you need allegations of criminal wrongdoing (which you also need for the USPER FISA). Think about it. Exactly what would the media have talked about for years on end with only the ICA and no Mueller?
Each played a role. Each was important. The ICA is A key, but not simply THE key. Now the tweets:
Matt Taibbi
The only reason the Steele affair isn’t already thought of as maybe the biggest scandal in the modern history of American journalism is because the ostensible “victim” was Donald Trump. Virtually everyone in major media was complicit in the fraud, and many are still proud of it.
Replying to @ggreenwald
The Steele Dossier shaped US politics for 4 years. Journalists now will pretend they mocked the salacious parts -- they didn't -- but the core fraud of it contaminated everything. The most gullible ones who promoted it -- @Maddow, @NatashaBertrand, @DavidCornDC -- were rewarded.

Stephen McIntyre 
the ICA is the key. Focus on Carter Page FISA has been Look Squirrel distraction. Steele info did not meet IC quality standards but included anyway because Obama (orally) said to include "everything", which McCabe used as authorization/instruction to include Steele fabrications
2/ many questions about ICA remain unanswered and even unasked. There does not appear to be any purpose for including Steele "information" other than to leak it. (as I recall) Strzok/Page speculated in early Jan on leaks from senior WH.
3/ was there any purpose in such a rushed ICA other than to boobytrap and undermine the incoming administration? Everyone involved is smart and cunning, so each step undoubtedly has a color of right, but net result of ICA was to commence resistance against Trump.
4/ in that respect, the insurrection beginning with ICA of Jan 6, 2017 was far more sinister than anything that happened on Jan 6, 2021.
Now the clincher at the end. Remember how Durham "grilled" Brennan a couple of months before the election and cleared him?
"We had one of the largest frauds and injustices in American history conducted during the 2016 election by the Justice Department and the FBI right in the middle of it."
This is from not even a year ago. And then he just dropped the ball. Who got to Barr?pic.twitter.com/9hvs0CVWNd
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) May 17, 2021