Intelligence Services never really closed up shop, and that they continue to insert people in the United States and run operations in the United States.
And so all of that is pretty troubling. I'd say -- I could generalize and say that, you know, as we've got deeper and deeper into understanding, you know, Donald Trump's business career and his history, it gradually reached a point where it seemed like most of the people around Trump had a connection to Russian organized crime or Russia in one way or another.
I could probably think of more if I think on it, but those are the big ones.
MR. SCHIFF: And knowing what you do about the Agalarovs, what do you think is the significance of the fact that the -- that Aras Agalarov was responsible, at least according to these public emails, for setting up the meeting at Trump Tower?
MR. SIMPSON: I think it's a reasonable interpretation that that was a Russian Government-directed operation of some sort, based on what I know now.
MR. SCHIFF: When you continued this work -- and let me just ask you, in terms of Free Beacon, you mentioned what your retainer was with Perkins Coie. What was your retainer with Free Beacon?
MR. SIMPSON: I think it was the same.
MR. SCHIFF: So 50,000 a month?
MR. SIMPSON: I mean, I don't literally remember.
MR. SCHIFF: But it was in the same ballpark?
MR. SIMPSON: We generally have a rate, a flat rate.
MR. SCHIFF: We know of your work vis-à-vis Christopher Steele. Did your work for Perkins Coie continue with these Russian lines of inquiry, quite separate and apart from what Christopher Steele was doing?
UNCLASSIFIED, COMMITTEE SENSITIVE
