fbi's interest in the broader outline outlines of steele's story gave it credibility. >> the fbi, you know, having said get lost, they will give us more information here. >> a few minutes before midnight on halloween, 2016, mother jones said a veteran spy gave the fbi information involving a russian operation to cultivate donald trump. it was the public's first glimpse of a story that a handful of reporters had been chasing for months. a candidate with a mirky relationship. a russian plot to tamper with the election. possible trump campaign collusion with the kremlin. the story was potentially huge and intriguing. but it was vague. who was this veteran spy? and what was the russian operation? how serious were these allegations? ultimately, david corn's article was swamped by the news cycle. days earlier, the fbi reopened an investigation of hillary clinton's use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state.