A federal judge found last week that Fusion GPS — the opposition research firm that compiled the now-discredited “Steele dossier” that had claimed Donald Trump colluded with Russia — played a role in circulating a fake police report accusing a billionaire investor of rape.
Shervin Pishevar – a deep-pocketed investor in Uber, Airbnb, Slack and Postmates — has claimed for the past five years that Fusion GPS was the firm behind a forged police report that alleged he had raped a woman in a London hotel in May 2017.
The fake police report was signed by a police officer who never existed and then given to a reporter at Fast Company who published a story on it later that year.
The ultimate source of the report remains unclear, but the US judge’s order permits Pishevar to subpoena Fusion GPS and potentially compel Fusion GPS to produce evidence about the source of the false report.
“So far, Mr. Pishevar’s investigations have revealed that Mr. Baram received the fake police report and false information from D.C.-based investigations company Fusion GPS,” US Judge Robin Meriweather of the District of Columbia wrote in a Feb. 17 ruling.
As part of the ruling, the judge is issuing a subpoena demanding that Fusion GPS in the next 14 days reveal the identity of the people who created the fraudulent report as well as the person who paid for the report to be compiled.
Representatives for Pishevar declined to comment.
Fusion GPS didn’t respond to a request for comment.