He told the newspaper last year that he sought to clear his name and emphasized that he was not a Russian agent, calling such claims “ridiculous” and “slander.”ĭanchenko’s identity was revealed in July 2020. He has previously defended his work on the dossier, telling the Times during an interview in 2020 that he was directed to compile “raw intelligence” for Steele, and ultimately sent him information that he felt raised a “red flag.” Danchenko worked at the think tank between 20, according to the Times. In actuality, however, authorities say that the phone call never took place, that no transfer of information between Danchenko and the unnamed individual occurred, and that they two did not make plans to meet in New York.ĭurham has had his eyes on Danchenko for some time, issuing a subpoena in February for the analyst’s personal files and documents from his time working at Brookings Institution. Danchenko said that person provided him with information for the dossier, and the two later agreed to meet in person in New York. citizen and the president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. The indictment also says that Danchenko falsely told investigators that he received an anonymous phone call in July 2016 from an individual he believed to be a U.S. The indictment claims that Danchenko falsely told investigators that he never communicated with a specific U.S.-based individual - who had ties to the Democratic Party and was at the time an executive at a public relations firm - about the allegations included in the Steele dossier, when in fact he allegedly did.Īuthorities say the analyst sourced at least one of the allegations in the dossier anonymously to that individual, whose role as a contributor to the report was “highly relevant and material to the FBI’s evaluation” because they had ties to a number of people named in the dossier, including one of Danchenko’s Russian sub-sources. He was employed by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent who wrote the controversial 35-page dossier, which was later leaked, of unsubstantiated rumors and assertions regarding potential links between former President Trump and Russia.ĭanchenko was reportedly the primary researcher for the dossier. The Hill reached out to the special counsel’s office for comment. People familiar with the matter told The New York Times that Danchenko was arrested Thursday morning.Īuthorities are alleging that Danchenko lied to FBI agents during interviews conducted from January 2017 through November of that year that were part of the bureau’s probe of the information included in the dossier.ĭanchenko is the third prosecution brought by Durham. That probe was later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, who uncovered dozens of secret contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials.īut regarding the most explosive claim from the dossier – that Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians – Mueller said there wasn’t enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy.A researcher who gathered information for the Steele Dossier was indicted by federal authorities on Thursday.Īnalyst Igor Danchenko was indicted on five counts of lying to the FBI in connection to the special counsel investigation headed by John Durham, who was appointed during the Trump administration to probe the bureau’s inquiry into Russian election interference, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. The FBI was already investigating by the time Steele and others provided their research to the bureau. Durham has used his indictments against Danchenko and a Clinton campaign lawyer to reveal how Democratic operatives were more involved than previously known in Steele’s work and in efforts to have the FBI investigate Trump’s ties to Russia. The opposition research was paid for with funds from Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. They say Danchenko also falsely told the FBI multiple times that he worked with a Russian businessman on the project. Prosecutors say Danchenko falsely denied to the FBI that he worked on the project with a former Democratic operative. Prosecutors from Durham’s team told Trenga that there would be “a vast amount of classified information” involved in the trial, and that the Justice Department was working to get security clearances for Danchenko’s lawyers so they could examine the material.Īfter the hearing, Danchenko ignored questions from CNN about whether he stood by his work with Steele. Ex-intel official behind Trump Russia dossier speaks out
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