Steele’s comments were covered in a number of mainstream news sources including Britain’s Daily Mail, the Daily Beast, and the Washington Post, all of which downplayed his comments as mere conspiracy theory.

Steele reached the rank of Major for the USMC Reserves, Intelligence, from 1976 to 1996, and during this period also worked with the CIA clandestine services (1979-1988). After nine years as a clandestine operations officer, Steele was one of the first to chase terrorists full time in the 1980’s, left the CIA to become…