Igor Danchenko was a well-known fabricator of (dis)information long before the FBI made the purposeful decision to enlist him in their Trump targeting efforts. Specifically because Danchenko had no moral compass to the truth he was particularly useful for the FBI effort. This was the big problem for John Durham in prosecuting Danchenko for material lies the FBI knew from the outset were false.
How does the same DOJ who used the lies for their political purposes, then prosecute the liar for the false information? That was always the structural flaw in any case brought by Durham. As a result, the trial was not so much about the lying Danchenko as it was about the lying FBI and their use of Danchenko.
A jury found Igor Danchenko not guilty on four counts of lying to the FBI, on four occasions. (1) Danchenko told FBI agents he received a phone call in late July 2016 Sergei Millian. However, Danchenko knew he had never received a call from Millian. (2) Danchenko gave a false statement to FBI agents that he “was under the impression” that the late July 2016 call was from Millian. (3) Danchenko falsely stated to FBI agents that he believed he spoke to Millian on the phone on more than one occasion. And (4) Danchenko lied that he “believed he has spoken to [Millian] on the telephone,” when Danchenko well knew he had never spoken to Millian.
The FBI didn’t care about the details of the lies that were told to them; the lies served a purpose. The FBI purpose was to use the Steele Dossier as the foundation for a fraudulent all-encompassing search warrant against the Trump campaign and presidency, using Carter Page. That construct was always the motive of the DOJ/FBI use of Danchenko, Chris Steele and the infamous dossier that gave the DOJ the patina they needed for the FISA application.
The trial itself showed how corrupt the FBI and DOJ were in this scheme by: A) offering Chris Steele $1 million for proof of the dossier content. B) By making Danchenko a confidential human source for two years to shield him, “sources and methods”, from investigative inquiry. C) By paying Danchenko $200,000 for his time as a useful tool and confidential human source.
As noted in the summary of the trial by Technofog:
[…] “What is more important is that which informs our understanding of the Trump/Russia investigation and the FBI/DOJ/Mueller misconduct that sparked Crossfire Hurricane and continued through the Mueller investigation. That information was revelatory. The institutions were on trial alongside Danchenko, with Durham recognizing in closing arguments that “the FBI mishandled the investigation at issue.” And the institutions rightly suffered. Danchenko might have been spared, but is there any reasonable doubt as to the FBI’s incompetence – and guilt? (read more)
As CTH has stated from the outset of the entire scheme, the problem is institutional corruption. The personnel, administration, leadership and participants, within the DOJ, DOJ-NSD and FBI are corrupt.
Institutions do not become corrupt by themselves. People within the institutions are the cause of the corruption, and every person attached to the Trump-Russia investigation – including Robert Mueller, are corrupt. It was a scheme in 2016, which became a coverup operation in 2017, which became an explosive institutional problem in 2019 which Bill Barr was trying to manage.
Institutional Preservation – Bill Barr applied the Bondo to the rusted framework of the DOJ and FBI, and John Durham applied the spray paint by not targeting anyone inside the justice department.
John Durham only focused, perhaps because he was only allowed to focus, on the external participants to the originating schemes. One thing is clear, John Durham never once mentioned the corrupt nature of the Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann coverup operation.
Danchenko was represented by the same lawyers representing Hillary Clinton because at the heart of Danchenko’s intent was an effort to support Hillary Clinton in the 2016 October surprise they were constructing using fabricated claims of Trump colluding with Russia to win the election.
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A jury has found Russian national Igor Danchenko not guilty on four false statements charges, declining to convict him for the allegations that the main source of British ex-spy Christopher Steele had lied to the FBI about his sourcing for the discredited anti-Trump dossier.
The jury reached their decision on Tuesday after less than two days of deliberations, delivering John Durham another defeat in his long-running investigation of the Trump-Russia investigators, after the special counsel lost another false statements case against a Clinton campaign lawyer in May. (more)
Washington DC protects itself.
