NOVEMBER 04, 2021
Federal authorities have arrested a key figure in compiling the so-called Steele dossier, a discredited report that compiled various allegations and rumors suggesting that former President Donald Trump's campaign was colluding with the Russian government.
U.S.-based Russian analyst Igor Danchenko — whom the New York Times referred to as the Steele dossier's "primary researcher" — was arrested Thursday on five counts of lying to the FBI, according to multiple reports.
The development comes as part of special counsel John Durham's probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation. Durham was appointed as a special counsel last year by the Trump administration in order to continue investigation into the "Crossfire Hurricane" probe without interference from President Joe Biden.
In a now-unsealed charging document, Durham's office alleges that in 2017 Danchenko knowingly made false statements to federal investigators about conversations he had with "sub-sources" while the FBI was interviewing him about his role in collecting information for ex-British spy Christopher Steele. Steele had been paid by Democrats to investigate links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Axios reported that "some of the false information in the Steele dossier that came from Danchenko was later used to obtain a surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page."
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