Thor Halvorssen: Fusion GPS Also Created a Fake Dossier About Me

HALVORSSEN: "Well, what is -- what is interesting is the fact that they admitted to paying for it. And ask yourself why it is they admitted paying for it? They admitted this because the bank records of Fusion GPS have been subpoenaed. And this would seem to be some way of blocking that subpoena or saying we don’t need it anymore. The fact is that Fusion GPS has worked for so many criminal entities and also has paid off journalists. And that's why they’re trying to stop those bank records from being exposed. And they’re claiming privilege, and all sorts of things. In fact, you know, smear artists don’t have privilege. They’re not lawyers, yet they’re trying to go down that route. And I know so personally given what they did in my case."
DOOCY: "Okay, Thor, tell us what they did to you."
HALVORSSEN: "Well, I -- I was involved in whistleblowing, a corruption case in Venezuela. The case involves a group of a businessmen, Alejandro Betancourt, Pedro Trebbau, Francisco D'Agostino, Venezuelans who started a company called Derwick Associates. This company received $3 billion in contracts from the Venezuelan government to build faulty power plants. They basically pocketed $2 billion plus from the government of Venezuela. When they got caught, they figure, what do we do? Well let’s destroy the whistleblowers, let's destroy those people that are speaking about us. So they hired Fusion GPS. And Fusion GPS then created a fake dossier filled with false information and then they shopped that dossier around to attack me, and similar dossiers to other people who done the same thing. And then they shopped it around. They took it to 'The Wall Street Journal'. 'The Wall Street Journal' took nothing with it. Eventually they paid an out of work journalist by the name of Ken Silverstein in Washington to publish some of these allegations. And Steve, the allegations were so outrageous --"
DOOCY: "Yeah."
HALVORSSEN: "-- the defense is -- is very difficult when people accuse you --"
DOOCY: "Sure."
HALVORSSEN: "-- of being embezzler, a heroin addict, a pedophile."