Steele files ‘collector’ goes on trial in major Durham probe test

The trial of a Russian national accused of lying to federal investigators about information he contributed to the so-called Steele dossier is set to begin this week, marking a major test for the special counsel probing the origins of the FBI probe into former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia .

Igor Danchenko, a Washington-based think tank analyst, was hired by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele in 2016 to compile information gathered in his now scandalous “dossier,” which included explosive and unproven claims about the former president. In a November 2021 indictment, prosecutors accused Danchenko of misleading FBI agents about his sources of information. Danchenko pleaded not guilty.

Danchenko’s trial, which begins Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, is expected to offer special counsel John Durham an opportunity to vindicate his years-long investigation, which Trump and his allies once hoped would uncover a widespread “deep state” conspiracy within the Bureau. .

Tasked in 2019 by then-Attorney General William Barr with prosecuting allegations of misconduct by the FBI and the intelligence community in their Russia probe, dubbed the “Hurricane of Crossfire,” Durham has secured charges against just three people, one of whom , Michael Sussman, was acquitted at trial earlier this year.

In another case, former FBI attorney Kevin Kleinsmith admitted to altering a document used in the application process authorizing continued surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide.

Danchenko is the third defendant and the most politically burdened. As a major Steele collector, Danchenko was responsible for sharing the salacious claim that Russian officials may have had video footage of Trump looking at prostitutes in a hotel room during a trip to Moscow in 2013. Trump has vehemently denied the allegation and no appearances have been made. evidence to support the charge.

Prosecutors accused Danchenko of falsely telling the FBI that he never communicated with an unidentified U.S.-based individual “who was a longtime participant in Democratic Party politics” about any allegations included in the dossier — while the indictment said , that Danchenko was in fact the source of one or more of the allegations against this person.

The indictment also accuses Danchenko of lying to the FBI when he implied that he spoke with a Belarusian-born businessman named Sergey Milian, who at the time was president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, and received information from Milian that he then entered in the file.

“Danchenko made a false statement [to the FBI] that in or around the end of July 2016, he received an anonymous phone call from a person Danchenko believed to be … the then president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce” and received information about Trump from that person, it said in the indictment, referring to Milian but not naming him.

In fact, according to the indictment, “Danchenko never received such a phone call or such information from a person he believed to be [Millian] … rather, Danchenko made up these facts about [Millian].”

The indictment goes on to allege that Danchenko “never spoke to” Milian at all, which would support Milian’s long-standing claim that he was not the source — knowingly or unknowingly — of any material in the dossier. Milian called any suggestion that he was the source a “blatant lie.”

Before the trial, Danchenko and his legal team tried to get their case dismissed and almost succeeded. Danchenko’s attorneys insisted that Danchenko presented information to the FBI consistent with what he believed to be true, and questioned the wording and interpretation of the agents’ questions during Danchenko’s interviews.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia ultimately ruled that the trial should continue, but characterized his decision as “an extremely close call.” Last week, Trenga ruled that prosecutors must avoid citing the most salacious allegations in Steele’s record when presenting their case to jurors.

Steele, who has remained largely silent since his dossier became public in January 2017, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview last year that he was “interested in seeing what [Durham] and publish what he says about us and others,” but is not afraid of any personal legal exposure.

“Do you think he’s coming for you?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“I don’t think so, no,” Steele replied.

“Are you worried about being accused?” Stephanopoulos added.

“No,” Steele said.

Durham’s failure to disclose allegations of widespread politicization at the FBI drew the ire of Trump and his supporters, who at various stages of the investigation expressed hope that the special counsel would back up their claims of a “deep state” conspiracy.

“The public is waiting ‘with bated breath’ for the Durham Report, which should expose corruption on a level never before seen in our country,” Trump wrote in August on Truth Social, his social media platform.

To the apparent chagrin of Trump and his supporters, however, the Danchenko trial may be one of the last acts of Durham’s tenure as special prosecutor. The New York Times reported last month that Durham’s grand jury had expired and that his office hoped to complete a final report by the end of the year.

ABC News’ Alexander Malin contributed reporting.