On Tuesday, a federal jury in Virginia found Igor Danchenko, a substantial contributor to the so-called Steele dossier of false material on ex-President Trump, not guilty on all four remaining counts of lying to the FBI.
The jury reached a damning verdict after only one day of deliberations against Special Counsel John Durham, whose duty was to uncover the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. Christopher Steele, a former British spy, produced the dossier for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and handed it over to the FBI. It contained sensational charges that could never be proven regarding Trump.
In his final statements on Monday, Durham said that he believed the FBI mishandled the Trump-Russia investigation, which immobilized the administration of the 45th president for over three years. Danchenko was initially charged with five counts of lying to the FBI. However, one of those allegations was subsequently withdrawn. The remaining four charges were dismissed following his trial.
Numerous pieces of information regarding the FBI’s investigation into false allegations of Trump campaign collusion with Russian operatives were exposed throughout the trial. For example, the FBI allegedly offered Christopher Steele $1 million to confirm his dossier of baseless charges and false assertions about President Trump. The former British agent was ultimately unable to establish his accusations and never earned the prize.
Durham’s closing statements in court were highly critical of the FBI in what may have been his final public comments before delivering his report. According to him, the FBI “did not do what they should have” and “mishandled the investigation at hand.” He allegedly said, “The FBI failed here,” as reported by The Washington Examiner.
Durham had one last opportunity to obtain a conviction in the Danchenko trial while investigating the Trump/Russia scam. Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering an email used to get a warrant to eavesdrop on Trump’s 2016 campaign. This is Durham’s lone conviction yet. In the year 2021, Clinesmith will begin serving his probation.
Michael Sussmann, a former Clinton campaign attorney, attempted to sell material to the FBI regarding a bogus backchannel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s AlfaBank. Nonetheless, Durham was unable to secure his conviction earlier this year. Sussmann brought the claim to former FBI general counsel James Baker in September 2016. Baker asserted that Sussmann falsely posed as a concerned citizen while working for the Clinton campaign to accuse Trump.
In May, a jury found Sussmann not guilty of all allegations, including making a false statement to the FBI. Before disclosing the results of his investigation into Crossfire Hurricane, it is doubtful that the special counsel will pursue more charges.