What we discovered from Durham's Danchenko investigation

Special counsel John Durham's investigation was dealt a blow earlier this week with a second not-guilty verdict, however his trial in opposition to Igor Danchenko revealed a bunch of latest particulars in regards to the FBI’s deeply flawed Trump-Russia investigation — and left some questions unanswered.

Danchenko on FBI payroll

Danchenko was on the FBI's payroll as a confidential human supply from March 2017 to October 2020 earlier than he was charged in November 2021 with 5 counts of constructing false statements to the bureau.

FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten, who testified through the trial, was one of many brokers who interviewed Danchenko in January 2017, and he was there when the Justice Division offered Danchenko with partial immunity.

FBI agent Kevin Helson, who was the handler for Danchenko whereas he labored as a paid informant for the bureau, sought to reward Danchenko lucratively.

Helson made an October 2020 request to pay Danchenko a lump sum of $346,000, and his testimony revealed that will have introduced the full quantity the Russian lawyer and analyst had been paid by the bureau over just a few years as much as a complete of $546,000. The lump-sum cost request was denied.

DURHAM REVEALS MUELLER WAS INVESTIGATING TRUMP DOSSIER

It was revealed through the trial that Auten was inquiring about Danchenko via the Baltimore area workplace in 2012, so when Danchenko was recognized by the FBI as former British spy Christopher Steele’s principal supply by December 2016, he was already recognized to at the least one Crossfire Hurricane member.

Steele file unverified

Auten mentioned neither Danchenko nor Steele ever offered corroborating data for the file. The analyst revealed the FBI had provided Steele an incentive of as much as $1 million if he might show the allegations of collusion in his file, however the FBI analyst mentioned the previous MI6 agent was unable to corroborate the claims following the October 2016 assembly. Auten and a number of different FBI officers testified through the trial that neither Steele nor Danchenko was ever capable of again up any of the file’s claims, and Auten additionally testified that different U.S. intelligence companies regarded into the file's claims, however none might verify them.

Auten and others would feed questions in regards to the file to Helson to ask Danchenko, however Helson testified that the dossier-related questions “dwindled” as time went on. He mentioned Danchenko by no means offered any corroboration for the file claims.

Helson admitted he knew nothing in regards to the file when he was made Danchenko’s handler. He additionally testified he instructed Danchenko to delete messages and “scrub” his cellphone. He mentioned he believed 80% of the file’s contents got here from Danchenko, including that “it was a big majority of the file.” Danchenko bragged in non-public messages that 80% of the file’s “uncooked intelligence” and 50% of its “evaluation” got here from him.

Mueller investigated the file

Durham’s trial in opposition to Danchenko revealed that Robert Mueller’s particular counsel group was investigating the discredited Trump file regardless of congressional testimony from Mueller that Steele and his file have been outdoors his purview, however the group could not corroborate a single key declare.

Amy Anderson, a supervisory particular agent, and Brittany Hertzog, a former FBI intelligence analyst, each testified that, as members of Mueller’s group particularly tasked with scrutinizing the file, they believed the FBI ought to interview and additional examine Charles Dolan, a longtime ally of Invoice and Hillary Clinton, partly resulting from his enterprise connections with Danchenko and with Russian enterprise and authorities officers.

The Mueller group members additionally testified that they have been involved about Dolan’s hyperlinks to Danchenko’s pal Olga Galkina, who had been recognized as a subsource for Danchenko associated to the file, though she denies being such a supply. Galkina was interviewed by the FBI in Cyprus in August 2017, however she was very hesitant about talking about Dolan.

Regardless of Dolan’s potential file hyperlinks via Danchenko and Galkina, in addition to his associations with Russian officers, Anderson and Hertzog mentioned their efforts to research Dolan have been shut down by their Mueller group superiors. Auten mentioned Steele had introduced up Dolan through the October 2016 assembly as being amongst individuals who could be educated in regards to the file allegations.

Danchenko suspected as a Russian spy

A member of the FBI's Human Intelligence Validation Unit recommended Danchenko might have been a part of Russian intelligence providers, in keeping with courtroom testimony, and Durham highlighted how Helson apparently didn't do his due diligence in wanting into the Russian analyst’s background earlier than signing him up as a confidential human supply.

Durham obtained Helson to confess that he submitted paperwork in early 2017 on Danchenko, which wrongly acknowledged there was no derogatory data obtainable on the Steele file supply. In actuality, it has been revealed that Danchenko was the topic of an FBI counterintelligence investigation for being a possible nationwide safety risk from 2009 to 2011. The inquiry unearthed hyperlinks between the defendant and Russian intelligence officers.

Helson however testified that, from 2017 via 2020, Danchenko had offered help in 25 ongoing FBI investigations and contributed to at the least 40 intelligence studies. The FBI agent testified that these investigations and studies largely or solely associated to combating Russian malign affect.

Durham's loss and what stays unanswered

In line with Durham, Danchenko anonymously sourced a fabricated declare about Trump 2016 marketing campaign supervisor Paul Manafort to Dolan. However the decide threw out that cost earlier than the jury might resolve on it.

Durham additionally accused Danchenko of mendacity to the FBI a couple of cellphone name he claims he obtained from somebody he believed was Sergei Millian, a Belarus-born U.S. citizen and businessman whom the Steele supply had mentioned instructed him a couple of well-developed conspiracy of cooperation between former President Donald Trump and the Russians — which the particular counsel says is fake. Danchenko was discovered not responsible of these expenses.

Auten revealed that “Mr. Millian at one time had been a supply” for the FBI.

It seems Durham could also be achieved together with his prison expenses, elevating questions on how the FBI brokers and officers concerned within the Trump-Russia investigation's wrongdoing will likely be held accountable.

The particular counsel is predicted to submit a closing report back to Legal professional Basic Merrick Garland, who vowed to make it public.