Russian analyst who aided in Steele dossier charged with lying to FBI
WASHINGTON — A Russian analyst who contributed to a dossier of Democratic-funded research into ties between Russia and Donald Trump was arrested Thursday on charges of lying to the FBI about his sources of information.
The case against Igor Danchenko is part of special counsel John Durham’s ongoing investigation into the origins of the FBI’s probe into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia had conspired to tip the outcome of that year’s presidential campaign.
The indictment is likely to boost complaints from Trump allies that well-connected Democrats worked behind the scenes to advance suspicions about Trump and Russia that contributed to the FBI’s election-year investigation.
The case does not undercut investigators’ findings that the Kremlin aided the Trump campaign — findings that were not based on the dossier.
The five-count indictment accuses Danchenko of making multiple false statements to the FBI when interviewed in 2017 about his role in collecting information for Christopher Steele, a former British spy who was paid by Democrats to investigate connections between Trump and Russia.
Danchenko, a U.S.based Russian who’d specialized in Russian and Eurasian matters as an analyst at the Brookings Institution, was a significant source for Steele as Steele compiled his dossier of research.
A lawyer for Danchenko had no immediate comment.
The indictment says Danchenko misled the FBI by denying that he had discussed any allegations in the dossier with a contact of his who worked as a public relations executive and was also a longtime Democratic operative who campaigned for Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 opponent.
Trump’s Justice Department appointed Durham as Trump claimed the investigation of campaign ties to Russia was a witch hunt. But the dossier had no part in launching the Trump-Russia investigation.
The indictment is the third criminal action from Durham.
Cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann was charged in September with lying to the FBI during a 2016 conversation in which he relayed concerns about potentially suspicious cyber contacts between a Trump Organization server and the server of a Russian bank. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty.
Last year, Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer, admitted altering an email related to the surveillance of the Trump aide, Carter Page.