Thread by @JohnWHuber

Is a mysterious British private spy firm linked to a series of “collusion” stings on the @realDonaldTrump team? Is HAKLUYT the "British Fusion GPS"?

(BIG) THREAD

The British end of the 2016 "sting" campaign against @realDonaldTrump is unlikely to get a mention in the first @JusticeOIG report from IG Horowitz, due out #soon. @DevinNunes @HouseIntelComm reports haven't focused on this potentially huge story much either. Let's take a look.

ALEXANDER DOWNER’S 2016 "chat" with GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS at the Kensington Wine Rooms about Cypriot JOSEPH MIFSUD & "Hilary emails" allegedly sparked the FBI's July 2016 counterintel investigation. DOWNER *initiated* that chat & even the @nytimes concede he may have been "fishing"

Who is ALEXANDER DOWNER?

• Hakluyt Advisory Board member 08-14, shareholder and still attending corporate meetings as recently as late 2015

• Secured $25m for Clinton Foundation while Australian Foreign Minister (96-07)

• Also UN Envoy to MIFSUD’s native Cyprus 08-14

In the '16 campaign there were a LOT of meetings like this, initiated by outsiders reaching out to people in the Trump campaign, looking to gossip about "Russia" & "Clinton emails". But it isn’t just DOWNER. Many can be traced back to "Hakluyt" (and even the Clinton's themselves)

So, who are Hakluyt?

• A private corporate spy/intel firm
• Founded in 1995, mostly by ex MI6 officers
• Set up with the "blessing" of the then head of MI6
• Clients worldwide
• Very secretive
• 72 staff
• HQ in v expensive part of London (Kensington)
• US office in NY

The name Hakluyt is derived from British writer & explorer RICHARD HAKLUYT (1553-1616), who promoted the colonization of North America and published detailed cartographical maps of "NOVUS ORBIS" (Latin for "New World"): en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_H… (H/T @CarrollQuigley1)

When CHRIS STEELE left MI6 & set up his own private intel firm (later hired by Fusion GPS to look for dirt on @realDonaldTrump), he called it *ORBIS* Business Intelligence Ltd. This is either a huge coincidence or he was similarly influenced by Hakluyt: catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalo…

The real life inspiration for James Bond was even one of three original founders of Hakluyt (FITZROY MACLEAN; he died in '96). The other two were CHRISTOPHER JAMES & MIKE REYNOLDS. Both were longtime undercover senior MI6 officers & well connected in the political & spying world

CHRISTOPHER JAMES

• MI6 1975-1998 (ran MI6 "business liaison")
• Founder & ran Hakluyt from 1998-2006
• One of James' first clients was MACK MCLARTY - fmr WH Chief of Staff to "oldest friend" BILL CLINTON (also a childhood friend of HILARY)
•Profile: spearswms.com/hakluyts-chris…

MIKE REYNOLDS

• Set up MI6's counter-terrorism branch
• MI6 Head of Station in Berlin
• Founder & director at Hakluyt from 1998-2004
• Apparently "a close friend" of SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE (fmr head of MI6 & fmr boss of CHRIS STEELE who has vouched for Steele's credibility)

Hakluyt's links to British intel even extend beyond MI6. The day after @realDonaldTrump announced his candidacy (Jun 16 '15), Hakluyt created a mutual firm: "Hakluyt Cyber Ltd". A 29-year veteran of GCHQ joined it Sep '15. The ex *Director* of GCHQ also joined the mgmt. board

Hakluyt also have contacts high up in the British govt. e.g. in recent years, staff seen "dining" with SIR JEREMY HEYWOOD (Cabinet Secretary, the top civil servant), & meeting with the then National Security Advisor KIM DARROCH*

*A peer of CHARLES FARR:

So Hakluyt are well connected to British intelligence & the political establishment. But what also makes them similar to Fusion GPS? A few things:

1. Secretive
2. Produced "intel" in similar way to Steele dossier
3. Possibly corrupt relationship with the media
4. 2016-17 #Money

An early Hakluyt director (and member of the media for 8 years), MICHAEL MACLAY, said in 2001: corpwatch.org/article/uk-mi6…

"We don't ever talk about anything we do. We never go into any details of what we may or what we may not be doing"

In 2000, founder MIKE REYNOLDS & Hakluyt were paid to "dig up dirt" against a client's corporate rivals (one of them based in the Czech Republic). Hakluyt produced a document of "BULLET POINTS" with "grave allegations", inc. corruption and even *murder*: bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/…

To add authenticity -like Steele's dossier 16yrs later- the allegations were filtered through a UK Ambassador (to Prague). But: the corporate rivals sued Hakluyt's client for DEFAMATION in the High Court. Nobody even defended the claims, so the judge "presumed them to be untrue"

So that’s being secretive & dossier claims that don’t stand up to scrutiny. What about Hakluyt's links to journalists?

• Targeted journalists as sources (likely paying $)
• Recruited journalists onto payroll
• A Hakluyt leader even IMPERSONATED a journalist, with FAKE stories

Hakluyt tried to recruit Australian health journalist MELISSA SWEET in 2008. The recruiter even admitted in an email that many other journalists were ALREADY acting as confidential (possibly paid) go-betweens for Hakluyt: webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache…

As well as MACLAY, Hakluyt recruited MARK HUBAND, a hard left wing Security/Intel Correspondent for the Financial Times (also at The Guardian) & had him on staff from 2005-2008: intelligenceonline.com/business-intel…

HUBAND later set up his own Hakluyt-style firm: markhuband.com/mark-huband-pr…

KEITH CRAIG is one of Hakluyt's top leaders (CEO 02-16; paid *£1.5m* in '15)

An ex MI6 undercover officer, in 94 he posed as a journalist in Bosnia, writing FAKE stories under a FAKE name, in the UK's prestigious & longest running magazine, The Spectator: theguardian.com/media/2000/jun…

Did you notice who DOWNER was a Hakluyt shareholder with until recently? Yep, the same KEITH CRAIG, the ex MI6, fake journalist. Nothing to see here folks, everything DOWNER says to the press (or FBI) is on the up and up, just look at the stand up guys he associates himself with!

That covers a brief overview of Hakluyt & their similarity to Fusion GPS. But it isn’t just ALEXANDER DOWNER reaching out to the Trump team who Hakluyt has strong links to. A person by the name of DR STEFAN HALPER did too...

DR STEFAN HALPER

• Cambridge Fellow
• Set up "Cambridge Intelligence Forum" with SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE (quit due to "Russian influence”: ft.com/content/d43cd5…)
• CIA Father-in-Law (RAY KLINE)
• Various roles at White House, DOJ
• Supported HILARY: sputniknews.com/politics/20161…

Like DOWNER, HALPER INITIATED a London meeting with G PAPADOPOULOS, picking up his flight+hotel expenses, meeting at the up-market Connaught & paying him $3K for a never published energy paper. HALPER was first to mention CLINTON emails: dailycaller.com/2018/03/25/geo… (H/T @ChuckRossDC)

HALPER also has strong links to Hakluyt:

1. Co-wrote a book (“America Alone”) with Jonathan Clarke, Hakluyt Director of United States operations

2. Used other Hakluyt Directors as book sources (eg SIR ROBIN RENWICK)

3. Shared academic panel with DOWNER: talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/267…

Why did HALPER pick the Connaught Hotel to try and establish a client/financial relationship with PAPADOPOULOS? Well, it is only 5 minutes walk away from Hakluyt’s London HQ and *literally round the corner*. Must be just a coincidence!

HALPER didn’t stop at PAPADOPOULOS either. He invited @carterwpage to a seminar in London July '16, which PAGE attended. Who else was there? Oh, only SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE, STEELE's MI6 boss, who vouches for & met to discuss the dossier with in Sep '16. Also nothing to see here

SIR ROBIN RENWICK, a source for HALPER’S book with Hakluyt Director of US Ops CLARKE, was a long time director at Hakluyt & replaced by DOWNER in 2008. That’s how pervasive these connections are. RENWICK is also connected to DEARLOVE & possibly even JOSEPH MIFSUD himself!

SIR ROBIN RENWICK

• UK Ambassador to South Africa 87-91

• UK Ambassador to USA 91-95*

• Hakluyt Advisory Board Director & Banker 00-08

• Lord for Kensington, London until 2018

*SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE was Head of D.C Station at the same time, based in the same building

While RENWICK was UK Ambassador to South Africa, an undercover MI6 officer, CHARLES CRAWFORD, worked in his embassy. CRAWFORD now teaches at the "London Academy of Diplomacy" (LAD) with JOSEPH MIFSUD, the "Professor" who PAPADOPOULOS told DOWNER had offered him "Clinton emails"

CRAWFORD, a "Visiting Professor" at LAD has given seminars called "Dealing with the Media" alongside MIFSUD and GIANNI PITTELLA: archive.today/V8AAy

PITTELLA, a socialist European politician, spoke at the 2016 DNC, calling @realDonaldTrump a "virus': archive.is/4jyO1#selectio…

CRAWFORD can also speak Russian, and may have been posted to Moscow during CHRISTOPHER STEELE’s final year there (1993). Does Crawford personally know STEELE? Because he definitely knows & works with MIFSUD. That’s yet another coincidence

Seriously, to quote a federal judge in the Muller/Manafort case: “Come on, man!” How is it possible all of these people know each other, they all initiate conversations with the Trump team AND they all have long standing links to British/private intelligence? (h/t to @CJBdingo25)

Oh AND almost all the conversations happen within a few square kilometres of each other in a small part of London? What are the chances random people are trying to set up meetings to discuss "Russia" & "Clinton emails" with CARTER PAGE & PAPADOPOULOS all in the same place? C'mon!

Now,I don't think only having meetings or existing professional relationships PROVES anything nefarious about Hakluyt on its own. But when you have this many coincidences, ALL at the same time & ALL negative for @realDonaldTrump surely we need a good explanation, not "no comment"

You also have to #followthemoney - how did anyone find out Hilary/DNC were paying Fusion GPS & STEELE? BANK RECORDS.

Well, there are about *10 MILLION reasons* to look closely into Hakluyt’s finances during the Presidential campaign: they had a HUGE spike, likely in US based biz

According to financial statements filed in London, Hakluyt's controlling company had a massive 22% or £10m increase in revenue during key periods of the Presidential Campaign (Jun 16-17; £46.1m to £56.4m). This compares to just +3.1% the year before: beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/034813…

The filings also imply significant inflows *from the USA*. There is a unique increase in revenue due to "currency translation". Given the EU Brexit vote of Jun 16 resulted in a large fall in the £/$ exchange rate, this suggests US clients, likely paying literally millions of $!

Okay, we’re nearly done here as this thread is already long enough. Something I’ll leave you with: @HouseIntelComm hasn’t interviewed GEORGE PAPADOUPOLOS, STEFAN HALPER, or so far as we know, even ALEXANDER DOWNER & it is unlikely @JusticeOIG will either, at least anytime #soon

If nobody is looking into Hakluyt, maybe there is nothing there? Perhaps, but *ALMOST NOBODY* publicly knew former Dianne Feinstein staffer Dan Jones was running a *£50m(!) campaign* to keep the Steele dossier & “collusion” alive either (except @seanmdav: thefederalist.com/2018/02/20/is-…)

So what else is out there if you turn over a few rocks? Journalists & investigators: take a hard look at Hakluyt. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I'd love to see what you find out! DM or secure email me if you'd like to discuss

HAKLUYT SUMMARY

• Deeply connected to MI6/GCHQ
• Senior staff linked to CLINTONS
• Undeclared/corrupt ties to media/journalists (Fusion GPS)
• Ties to DOWNER, HALPER, MIFSUD: ALL initiate contact with DJT team
• £10m extra business? Who/where from? #FollowTheMoney

/ENDS

N.B. For sleuths, "Hakluyt" have various names: Hakluyt Cyber, Chai, Pelorus, Voyager, Holdingham etc. They are all owned by Holdingham and the same group of people anyway, so I've just used "Hakluyt" throughout to at least attempt to make things simpler to follow

Follow up: another interesting connection for Halper here, H/T to @CJBdingo25

Follow up 2: here is @JohnBrennan in the New York City Offices of Hakluyt and Company, Jan 2018: