Igor Danchenko, a Russian national who served as the main sub-source for the anti-Trump dossier, was found not guilty on all four charges of making false statements to the FBI by a jury on Tuesday. Special Counsel John Durham, who is looking at the beginnings of the FBI’s initial Trump-Russia probe, had filed the charges.
The Danchenko trial is the second to result from Durham’s lengthy investigation, and it is the second instance in which the jury found the defendant not guilty. Michael Sussmann, a former Clinton campaign lawyer, was found not guilty of lying to the FBI in June.
Stuart Sears, the lawyer for Mr. Danchenko, stated on Tuesday that “we have known all along that Mr. Danchenko was innocent.” “Now that the American public is aware of it as well, we’re thrilled.”
Shortly after, Durham declared that his squad is “disappointed” with the result.
BREAKING: Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, who provided Trump-Russia dossier information, has been found not guilty of lying to the FBI. pic.twitter.com/HxlOfzZmgA
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 18, 2022
Durham stated on Tuesday, “While we are disappointed with the result, we accept the jury’s verdict and appreciate them for their service. “I also want to acknowledge and appreciate the prosecution team and the detectives for their committed efforts to finding the truth and pursuing justice in this case.”
After hearing the prosecution’s evidence, U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga cleared Danchenko of one of the five charges last week. The result was reached during a typical Rule 29 procedure in which the defense moves to dismiss the case on the grounds that the prosecution has not shown enough evidence to establish it.
When Danchenko said he had not “spoken” to veteran Democratic operative and PR executive Charles Dolan about material that was included in the Steele Dossier, Count One had claimed that he had lied to FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson.
Former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele’s anti-Trump dossier used Danchenko as its main secondary source. Through law firm Perkins Coie, the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign paid for the dossier, which was ordered by opposition research company Fusion GPS.
It served as the foundation for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Carter Page, a member of the Trump campaign.
The dossier, according to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz in 2019, was used to support the first FISA warrant and its three renewals. The dossier, according to Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, was the initial justification for the warrants and Page’s monitoring.
After accounting for the FBI’s false information, the Justice Department acknowledged in 2020 that the FISA warrants to monitor Page did not fulfill the requisite legal requirements and should have have been issued. The FBI paid Danchenko more than $200,000 to act as a trusted human source for the agency, it was revealed throughout the trial.
Page performed comparable duties for the FBI and the CIA, but he told Fox News Digital he was never paid by the American government and instead took the job as a duty to his nation.
The FBI traveled internationally to meet with Steele in October 2016 to learn more about the claims made in the dossier, it was also disclosed during the trial. An FBI representative said that during talks, the FBI gave Steele a $1 million offer to support the information in the dossier. Steele was unable to.
The individual also stated that no U.S. intelligence agency, including the FBI, had any information verifying the accusations in the dossier, yet they were nevertheless utilized to support the FISA order against Page despite this.
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