Russian sources vanished after Trump declassified Christopher Steele material: report

In addition to four criminal indictments, Donald Trump is facing a variety of civil lawsuits. But the former president has filed some civil lawsuits himself. One of them is in the U.K., where Trump is suing British ex-spy Christopher Steele's company Orbis Business Intelligence because of the hotly debated Steele Dossier of 2016.

The Steele Dossier is controversial even among Trump's critics, alleging that Trump was seriously compromised by his connections to Russia. Steele once ran the Russian desk for MI6, the U.K.'s foreign intelligence division.

The Guardian's Haroon Siddique, in an article published on October 18, reports that according to a British court document, Trump's "decision to declassify evidence" given by Steele about Trump's "alleged links with Russia led to the disappearance of two Russian sources."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

"Trump is attempting to sue Orbis Business Intelligence in England over the dossier, which alleged that he engaged in 'perverted sexual behavior' and paid bribes to Russian officials to further his business interests," Siddique explains. "The former president is claiming breach of his data protection rights and says the dossier's claims against him were 'false' and 'phony' and caused him reputational damage and distress."

Siddique continues, "In his witness statement, Steele said the decision to declassify his testimony, taken on Trump's last day in office, resulted in several Russian sources being exposed and suffering 'varying consequences.'"

Buzzfeed published the Steele dossier in 2017, the year Trump was sworn in as president. Trump, according to Siddique, "accepts" that "Orbis was not legally responsible for this and is suing over the company's dissemination of it to three individuals."

Siddique reports, "Orbis, which is seeking to have the claim struck out before it goes to trial, argues it has been brought too late and for the 'illegitimate' purpose 'of harassing Orbis and Mr. Steele and pursuing longstanding grievances.' Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election made clear that the Trump campaign was 'receptive' to offers of assistance from the Russians, but it did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy."

READ MORE:How Jack Smith ordered Trump to 'put up or shut up': legal expert

Read The Guardian's full report at this link.