A key source for the anti-Donald Trump dossier paid for by Democrats has confirmed that he was on the FBI’s payroll for years.
Igor Danchenko, who provided information to dossier author Christopher Steele, “was a vital source of information to the U.S. government during the course of his cooperation and was relied upon to build other cases and open other investigations,” lawyers for Danchenko said in a filing lodged in federal court in Virginia.
Special counsel John Durham recently disclosed that Danchenko was a confidential human informant for the FBI from March 2017 to October 2020.
Danchenko was later charged with five counts of lying to the government in interviews about his role as a collector of information that was put forth in the dossier, which was funded by the campaign of Hillary Clinton—Trump and Clinton faced off in the 2016 presidential election—and the Democratic National Committee.
Danchenko allegedly lied about not sourcing information from Charles Dolan, a longtime Clinton associate, and sourcing information from Sergei Millian, a businessman and supporter of Trump.
Some have alleged the FBI paid Danchenko in an effort to conceal the fabrications. The FBI has declined comment, referring The Epoch Times to the Department of Justice, which has not responded to a request for comment.
Prior Investigation
Danchenko was investigated by the FBI from 2009 to 2011. While working for the Brookings Institution in 2008, he approached two colleagues and discussed whether they wanted to provide classified information in exchange for money, according to Durham’s team.
Danchenko said he thought one of the employees might be able to join the Obama administration, which came into power in early 2009, and gain access to classified information. Danchenko said that he knew people who would pay money for the information. The employee conveyed the offer to a contact in the government, who relayed it to the FBI.
