Donalds grills Biden SEC commissioner on Steele dossier payment

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Biden SEC commissioner grilled on Steele dossier payment

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Gary Gensler on Tuesday was pressed on his 2016 role with the Hillary Clinton for president campaign, and whether he facilitated payment for the Steele dossier, a trove of unverified rumors about Donald Trump.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler clashed with Republican Rep. Byron Donalds on Tuesday during a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee.

Gensler appeared before the committee to discuss his department's recent crackdown on cryptocurrency services.

Following extensive questioning about the financial technology, Gensler was hit with a curveball.

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Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. ( Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gensler, who has been with the SEC since 2021, was questioned by Donalds about his time serving as chief financial officer of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

"Did you facilitate the payment for the Steele dossier since you were CFO of the Hillary Clinton campaign?" Donalds asked, referencing the compendium of unverified rumors about Donald Trump that was shared with the FBI. 

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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., questions witnesses during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Gensler appeared exasperated by the question, beginning to answer, "Sir," before being told to respond "yes or no."

"It was not something I was aware of," Gensler answered.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 29, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The scandalous dossier – funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign through law firm Perkins Coie – provided the liberal media with countless anti-Trump headlines, cable news segments and helped set the tone for years of daily, feverish Russiagate coverage. 

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In previous testimonies before House Intelligence Committee, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta named Gensler as the campaign's primary money handler in connection with Perkins Coie.