Igor Danchenko, a Russian-born lawyer who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, was taken into custody by federal law enforcement after being hit with charges in a yet-unsealed indictment obtained by Durham’s office.
- DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report in December 2019 that concluded Steele’s Democratic-funded dossier played a “central and essential” role in the FBI’s effort to obtain wiretap orders against Carter Page, a 2016 Trump campaign adviser who was never charged with a crime and denied any wrongdoing.
- The DOJ watchdog criticized the bureau for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FBI’s reliance on Steele’s dossier, its omission of potentially exculpatory information, and more. Declassified footnotes from Horowitz’s report made public in 2020 indicate the bureau became aware that Steele’s dossier may have been compromised by Russian disinformation.
- FBI notes of a January 2017 interview with Danchenko showed he told the bureau he “did not know the origins” of some of Steele’s claims and “did not recall” other dossier information.
- He told the FBI that Steele mischaracterized at least one of his Russian source contacts and noted much of what he gave to Steele was “word of mouth and hearsay,” some of which stemmed from a “conversation that [he] had with friends over beers,” and the most salacious allegations may have been made in “jest.” Horowitz said Danchenko “contradicted the allegations of a ‘well-developed conspiracy’ in” Steele’s dossier.
SOURCE: WASHINGTONEXAMINER
Political | Process 
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