Here is a more detailed take on the contents of the Simpson Transcript:

I have no use for Clinton (either of them) or the corporate Dems but this is ridiculous.

Based on my reading of the Simpson Transcripts released by Dianne Feinstein, here is what I understand:

1. Fusion GPS was initially hired by REPUBLICAN rivals during the primary to do op research on Trump. The Dems only started paying them to keep digging AFTER the primary

2. Fusion GPS is a highly reputable outfit adhering to the highest standards of investigative journalism. It was founded by a former Wall Street Journal reporter specializing in money laundering and organized crime in the former Soviet Union. They are anything but political hacks. They work mostly for businesses in matters such as industrial espionage and international lawsuits. They also work for BOTH parties on occasion, although this is not their bread and butter. The condition on which they work for clients is that they will follow the evidence wherever it leads and will NOT be told to “look here, not there” or back into conclusions by cherry-picking.

3. Fusion starts its investigations with public records — books, court fillings, etc., with emphasis on testimony under oath. They hired Chris Steele, also a very reputable agent (whose past investigations for MI6 led to serious indictments against international crime families) after discovering suspicious business deals between the Trump businesses and Russian agents and mobsters. Steele is a highly respected top authority in this area, and equally important, well trained to distinguish between truth and disinformation.

4. Steele uncovered evidence that he (as a former British intelligence agent who had worked with the FBI on cases of concern to both allies) felt was of urgent importance to report to US law enforcement. This is, as Glenn Simpson, head of Fusion GPS, stated before the Senate Intelligence Committee, coming across a crime in progress incidental to another investigation, or as if you were driving to work and saw a car wreck. It would be your duty to report it to the proper authorities.

5. Steele reported it to an FBI agent he has worked with on other cases and the FBI explicitly stated that it CONFIRMED other information that they already had.

6. There has been NOT ONE allegation in the Steele memos (known as the “Dossier”) that has been disproven.

7. The FBI has been investigating Carter Page since at least 2013, on the suspicion that he was being cultivated as a Russian agent. They even visited him to warn him about it. Instead of backing away from the Kremlin agents, Page continued the connections and even boasted about being a consultant to the Kremlin.

8. Allegations about lies to the FISA court strain credulity because of the complex regulations that have to be followed. They are based on secret documents that nobody outside of the DOJ and a couple of politicians have seen. The Republicans say that it was only the Dossier that led to the FISA warrant and the Dems say that there was enough evidence to justify the warrant without the Dossier. The Dems argument is more plausible, given what we do know about FISA courts and how careful the Feds are likely to be if they are investigating a highly placed target. They are not likely to take a chance that their case could be overturned on a technicality