Former Trump official Kash Patel appeared on Steve Bannon’s show, The War Room, where he made explosive claims about former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and the Steele Dossier. According to Patel, Paul Ryan received a copy of the Steele Dossier in 2016 with allegations about Donald Trump and hookers at a Russian hotel, but kept this information concealed from investigators, including Patel and Devin Nunes, who were tasked with probing the Russia collusion allegations.
In a post on Truth Social, Patel accused Ryan of withholding critical information that could have influenced their investigation into Russiagate. He emphasized that Ryan’s possession of the dossier, which contained unverified allegations against Donald Trump, was only revealed later in a British court during a lawsuit involving Christopher Steele.
During his appearance on The War Room, Patel reiterated these accusations, stating that Ryan’s office received the dossier before Nunes and himself were tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Patel criticized Ryan for not disclosing this pivotal detail, which could have led to uncovering important facts about the origins and funding of the dossier.
Patel characterized Ryan’s actions as undermining Trump’s presidency from the outset and accused him of obstructing efforts to declassify information related to the dossier. He portrayed Ryan as disingenuous and accused him of cowardice for not admitting to having the dossier earlier.
Steve Bannon reacted with astonishment to Patel’s claims, highlighting the seriousness of the accusations and emphasizing the implications of Ryan’s alleged actions. Patel affirmed the accuracy of his statements, citing court filings and asserting that Ryan’s office had the dossier since 2016 without informing Nunes or him during their investigation.
Kash Patel: Remember in 2016, let’s rewind the tape. It was Russia collusion, Russia collusion, Russia collusion. Then Speaker Paul Ryan enlisted me and Devin Nunez to investigate the Russia collusion.
Nobody knew what the Steele dossier was in 2016. They had already gone to the federal court and unlawfully surveilled Donald Trump with it. But we didn’t find out until after we completed our investigation in 2018, was that the speaker, Paul Ryan, who charged us with investigating Russiagate, was the first guy to ever get a copy of the Steele dossier in 2016.
He never told us. He still never admitted it. It finally was admitted in a British court where Christopher Steele was being sued. Just think about it, Steve. We could have asked, Where did you get it? Who did you get it from? How was it paid for? All of these secrets could have come out under this man’s very investigation, but he rigged it from the beginning.
So I’m done listening to lectures about the new conservative brand that is Paul Ryan, and anytime he wants to debate me, I’m all in. He charged us with an investigation that he rigged because he didn’t want Donald Trump to succeed. He kneecapped him from the beginning. That guy’s talking about not going to the RNC. No one wants him there. He’s so arrogant. He doesn’t understand the simple fact that we put out the truth.
Steve Bannon: Are you telling me and telling this audience in a British court filing that Steele filed under penalty of perjury, he identified that Paul Ryan actually had the Steele dossier before he charged you guys, House Intel, to look into this, and he never informed Devin Nunez, the chairman of that? That’s impossible to believe. Are you sure about this?
Kash Patel: 100% accurate. The Steele dossier was handed to Paul Ryan’s Chief of Staff in 2016. They put out a mealy-mouth of retreat to it, response to it, which basically said, ‘Oh, we didn’t get it from Christopher Steele directly. They admitted it in court that they had a copy the entire time, and they didn’t tell us in 2016, they didn’t tell us in 2017, they didn’t tell us in 2018.
The quintessential piece of evidence which was exposed because I went to DOJ and got the FISA, which the Steele dossier was an entire part of, and Paul Ryan was the one that fought us tooth and nail, and remember, on declassifying it. Now we know why. He had it for sure. He is a total coward.
