Igor Danchenko defends his role in gathering data for the dossier. A researcher working with Christopher Steele to prepare Steele’s controversial dossier containing unproven, explosive claims about ex-President Donald Trump, was arrested on charges emerging from the special counsel’s investigation of the Russia probe. The former British MI6 spy Christopher Steele had prepared the intelligence reports for the infamous “Steele dossier.”
The Infamous Steele dossier
Igor Danchenko, a Russian living in USA, had defended his role in providing information Steele used in the dossier, including a salacious claim that Russian officials videotaped Trump watching prostitutes in a Moscow hotel-room during a 2013 trip. Trump always denied this claim and still, zero evidence has surfaced to substantiate this allegation. Danchenko is now charged with five separate counts for making false statements to the FBI in interviews about his sources of information for Steele to include in the dossier. In the federal grand jury indictment handed down and signed by John Durham, Special Counsel, Danchenko is accused of falsely informing FBI he never communicated with any unidentified U.S.-based individual involved in Democratic Party Politics, relating to allegations included in the dossier, whereas the indictment says Danchenko actually sourced many allegations to that individual.
Christopher Steele defiant on dossier, says Trump still ‘potential’ threat
The indictment accuses Danchenko of lying to the FBI about receiving an anonymous call in July 2016 from the president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, providing information about Trump-Russia ties that Danchenko passed onto Steele. The indictment alleges that he knew, that he never spoke with the President of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, and he lied having suggested otherwise to the FBI. The indictment confirms Danchenko’s lies were material to his interviews with the FBI as their investigation of the Trump campaign relied largely on the Steele dossier for obtaining FISA warrants against Carter Page, former Trump adviser, and then forcing the FBI to ultimately devote substantial resources for investigating and corroborating various allegations mentioned in the dossier. The dossier, originally compiled as opposition research against Trump’s presidential candidacy, created an international scandal when published, 10 days prior to Trump’s swearing in as POTUS. Danchenko is now in custody though details about charges framed against Danchenko, were not available. Former Attorney General William Barr declassified documents sent to Congress, in 2020 showing Danchenko was probed as a Russian agent, in a counterintelligence investigation. Danchenko denied these claims. Barr also declassified an interview transcript of Danchenko with the FBI in January 2017, in which he confessed that the most explosive claims in the Steele Dossier, were just rumors and hearsay.
Unravelling the Truth from Lies
How Christopher Steele prepared his reports and the fallout of his unmasking emerged when Steele suggested that his primary data collector, yet to be confirmed as Danchenko, was frightened at having his cover blown and tried to underestimate and downplay his own reports when interrogated by FBI. Danchenko’s attorney failed to respond or pass comments. Steele declined to comment when asked to respond to Danchenko’s arrest. For the Hulu documentary, Steele mentioned not cooperating with Durham’s probe and did not expect to be charged in connection with his work on the dossier, but remained interested to see what Durham published and what he says about others.