The FBI’s Dubious Dealings with Christopher Steele and Igor Danchenko

Offering $1 Million for Evidence Linking Trump to Russia

According to a report from Special Counsel John Durham, the FBI offered to pay Christopher Steele, the author of the infamous anti-Trump “dossier,” up to $1 million for evidence linking Donald Trump to Russia. This offer was made despite the FBI’s knowledge that Steele’s dossier relied primarily on one person, or “subsource,” Igor Danchenko.

Payoffs to Danchenko Despite Lack of Evidence

The FBI paid Danchenko $220,000 even after he was unable to provide evidence for a single one of his claims. More shockingly, the FBI had significant evidence that Danchenko was tied to Russian intelligence. It had closed a counterintelligence investigation into him in 2011 only because agents mistakenly believed he had left the country.

Disregarding Evidence Against Danchenko

Kevin Helson, an FBI agent who served as Danchenko’s handler, filled out a confidential source application incorrectly stating that there was no derogatory information about him. Helson later said he disregarded the evidence against Danchenko because a Baltimore special agent who worked on that probe told him it was “hearsay at best.” But that Baltimore agent adamantly told Durham that she had said no such thing.

Top Brass Insisted on Paying Danchenko

Top brass were bizarrely adamant about paying Danchenko, to the point that even after Durham began investigating FBI misconduct in the Trump probe, FBI brass proposed paying him $300,000 more. While he was being paid by the FBI, Danchenko was also being paid by a “front” company owned by a Russian national in the D.C. area, despite doing no work for it, as part of an apparent visa scheme.

The DNC and Hillary Clinton Campaigns’ Involvement

The DNC and Hillary Clinton campaigns had their lawyer hire research firm Fusion GPS to investigate Trump, which then paid Steele, who in turn paid Danchenko.

The FBI’s Failure to Address Danchenko’s Espionage Case

“It is extremely concerning that the FBI failed to deal with the prior unresolved counterespionage case on Danchenko. Given Danchenko’s known contacts with Russian intelligence officers and his documented prior pitch for classified information, the Crossfire Hurricane team’s failure to properly consider and address the espionage case prior to opening Danchenko as a CHS is difficult to explain, particularly given their awareness that Danchenko was the linchpin to the uncorroborated allegations contained in the Steele Reports,” Durham wrote.

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