Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Did the Clinton campaign or DNC directly hire Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson?
Executive summary
Contemporaneous reporting and later disclosures show that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee did not sign a direct contract with Fusion GPS; instead, the law firm Perkins Coie — working for the Clinton campaign and the DNC — retained Fusion GPS from April 2016 through the election to continue opposition research on Donald Trump [1] [2]. Fusion GPS had earlier been paid by the conservative Washington Free Beacon during the GOP primary; Fusion and Perkins Coie have said Fusion approached the firm and then was engaged, and client identities were kept confidential initially [1] [3] [2].
1. How the payments were routed: a law firm as middleman
Public reporting and later disclosures indicate Perkins Coie served as the intermediary: Perkins Coie, representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, engaged Fusion GPS to conduct research beginning in spring 2016 [2] [3]. Multiple outlets and filings describe the arrangement as the campaign and DNC paying Perkins Coie, which in turn retained Fusion; Perkins Coie’s letter and other documents say Fusion “approached Perkins Coie” and Perkins Coie then “engaged” Fusion [3] [2].
2. Fusion’s earlier client — and the timeline
Fusion GPS had already been doing opposition research on Trump for the Washington Free Beacon during the Republican primary; that funding stopped in spring 2016. From April 2016 through October 2016, Perkins Coie retained Fusion to continue the work on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC [1]. The Steele dossier’s earliest memoranda date to June 2016, two months after Perkins Coie’s engagement of Fusion, according to reporting [2].
3. Public disclosure, secrecy, and congressional revelations
Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS initially kept client identities confidential; client names were later revealed to the House Intelligence Committee in October 2017, though they were not public at the time [1]. The Washington Post and the AP reported that the arrangement was brokered by Marc Elias of Perkins Coie, who was general counsel for the campaign, and that the payments were routed through the law firm [2] [3].
4. What the parties have said about who “hired” Fusion
Perkins Coie’s public statements said Fusion approached the firm and was then engaged to perform a variety of research services during the 2016 cycle [3]. Clinton-campaign figures — including then-campaign manager Robby Mook — later said they authorized Elias to hire an outside firm for international research, and Mook said he gave Elias a budget allocation to investigate Trump’s international ties [3] [4]. Fusion and campaign representatives have argued in court filings that the work was lawful and did not show wrongdoing [5].
5. Legal and political disputes over disclosure and characterization
Watchdog groups and critics argued the campaign and DNC should have disclosed the payments more transparently; at least one complaint to the FEC alleged the campaign and DNC concealed payments to Fusion by routing them through Perkins Coie and labeling them as legal services [6]. Conversely, Perkins Coie and campaign lawyers asserted attorney-client protections and described some Fusion work as part of legal advice; a judge later ruled some Fusion emails were subject to subpoena while others were protected [5].
6. Why phrasing matters: “directly hired” versus “retained via counsel”
The question “Did the Clinton campaign or DNC directly hire Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson?” turns largely on contract mechanics and public disclosure. Available reporting shows the campaign and DNC paid Perkins Coie, and Perkins Coie retained Fusion GPS — so there was not a publicly disclosed direct contract from the campaign/DNC to Fusion; rather, Perkins Coie acted as the hiring agent for Fusion on behalf of those clients [1] [2] [3]. Different actors have framed the sequence differently: critics call it the Clinton campaign/DNC hiring Fusion; campaign lawyers emphasize that Perkins Coie engaged Fusion after Fusion approached the firm [6] [3].
7. Remaining limits and disputes in the record
Available sources document the payment route and describe who brokered the engagement, but they do not provide a single public document showing an original direct contract from the campaign or DNC to Fusion GPS [1] [2]. Some details — such as the exact dollar amounts Fusion received from Perkins Coie and the granular internal campaign discussions — are reported in various outlets but remain disputed and were the subject of legal fights over subpoenas and privilege [6] [5].
Conclusion: Reporting and legal disclosures consistently say Perkins Coie retained Fusion GPS to continue opposition research for the Clinton campaign and the DNC beginning in April 2016; whether one frames that as the campaign/DNC “directly hired” Fusion depends on whether routing the work through campaign counsel counts as direct hiring. The contemporaneous record supports the formulation that Perkins Coie — acting for Clinton’s campaign and the DNC — engaged Fusion GPS [2] [3] [1].