Durham arrests Steele dossier researcher

 National Review:

The primary researcher behind the Steele Dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated opposition research linking the 2016 Trump campaign to the Kremlin, was arrested by federal authorities Thursday.

Russia analyst Igor Danchenko’s indictment stems from the federal probe led by John Durham, the special counsel tapped by the Trump administration to audit the Russia investigation for malfeasance, anonymous individuals with direct knowledge of the matter told the New York Times.

In the months following the 2016 election, it was determined that many of the claims made by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who hired Danchenko, were either unverified or erroneous. The dossier created the collusion allegation that Trump “accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his Democratic and other political rivals.”
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During an interview with the FBI, Danchenko had cast doubt on some of the contents of the dossier, suggesting that he himself was skeptical of the material presented.

“Even raw intelligence from credible sources, I take it with a grain of salt,” Danchenko said. “Who knows, what if it’s not particularly accurate? Is it just a rumor or is there more to it?”

However, the FBI reportedly did not relay Danchenko’s doubt to the Justice Department. A 2019 investigation conducted by the DOJ inspector general called out the FBI for using information from the dossier in spite of Danchenko’s admitting some of the details were somewhat speculative.

See, also: 

Steele’s main dossier source arrested in Durham investigation: Report

The Russia hoax was one of the biggest political frauds in history and appears to have been financed by the Clinton campaign. and people associated with it.