A Russian intelligence analyst is set to begin his trial on Tuesday on charges of lying to the FBI during its investigation into alleged interference at the 2016 election, in what is expected to be Special Counsel John Durham's final chance of justifying his three-year-long probe.
Igor Danchenko is accused of five counts of making false statements to the FBI in relation to information he provided that formed the basis of the now widely debunked dossier from former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, which sought to highlight Donald Trump's alleged ties with Russia.
For years, the former president and his supporters have eagerly awaited the results of Durham's investigation into the origins of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged interference at the 2016 Election, believing it would expose a "deep state" conspiracy to sabotage his run for the White House.
However, Durham's probe appears to be winding down with just three indictments that don't allege a conspiracy against Trump and none of the suspects are high-profile Democrat figures, as the former president's supporters were eagerly hoping for.
The New York Times reported in September that the grand jury Durham appointed to hear evidence had expired, and that there were no plans to convene another one and no signs of any more indictments coming.
Prosecutors allege that Danchenko "fabricated" having a phone call with Sergei Millian, a Belarusian-American businessman, who provided information about a "conspiracy of cooperation" between the Trump campaign and Russian officials to help the former president win in 2016.
Danchenko is also accused of falsely stating that most of the information he provided to the so-called "Steele Dossier" had come from conversations he had with a "long-time participant in Democratic Party politics," who was later found to be Charles Dolan, a volunteer in the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign.
Danchenko has denied the allegations, claiming he didn't willingly lie to the FBI as he genuinely believed the man he spoke to in 2016 in a phone call was Millian, and that he denied to agents he had "talked" with Dolan when the pair had only communicated via email.
"This case is likely the last real test for Durham's office to justify its years-long investigation into possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 election," Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor, told The Washington Post regarding Danchenko's trial.
If Danchenko is cleared of the charges against him, Mintz added it will "only add fodder to critics of Durham's office who believe that his prosecutions have failed to get to the core of his mandate to investigate the genesis of the Russian collusion allegations, but instead have only charged individuals with more technical violations."
Durnham's investigation has also brought forward charges against Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer with links to the Clinton campaign, of making a false statement to the FBI.
Sussmann was found not guilty at a trial in May of lying to the FBI about whether he arranged a 2016 meeting with federal agents to discuss an apparent link between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank on behalf of the Clinton campaign.
Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer, was also charged in connection to Durham's probe for altering a government email to justify the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Clinesmith pleaded guilty to the charge in 2020 and was sentenced to a year of probation.
'Witch Hunt'
After Durham's team completes its report, it will be handed up to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who will decide whether to make its findings public.
Trump, who frequently called Mueller's investigation into him a "witch hunt," recently used the Durham probe to suggest there is a deep-rooted conspiracy against him soon after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago resort in August looking for classified documents removed from the White House.
"The public is waiting 'with bated breath' for the Durham Report, which should reveal corruption at a level never seen before in our country," Trump posted in Truth Social.
While Mueller's probe into alleged interference at the 2016 election ultimately yielded no evidence linking the Trump campaign to Russian officials, a number of people were sentenced over charges that stemmed from the investigation, including several advisers to the former president.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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