Bombshell on Christopher Steele’s Subsource Flies Under the Radar

BY JACK CROWE

September 28, 2020

THE NOMINATION OF JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT to the Supreme Court on Saturday — and the resulting confirmation battle — will suck up whatever oxygen remains in this fall's already crowded political news environment, all but guaranteeing that the damning revelations emerging from the multiple ongoing investigations into the origins of the Russia probe will pass without mention in the mainstream press.

As rumors swirled about Barrett's nomination late last week, Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsay Graham, whose panel is conducting an investigation into the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane probe, revealed that the "primary subsource" behind the Steele dossier was himself the target of an FBI counterintelligence investigation from 2009-2011 over concerns that he posed a "threat to national security."

FBI documents released by Graham reveal that former British spy Christopher Steele relied on the Ukrainian-born Igor Danchenko as his subsource for much of the information contained in his salacious dossier.

Danchenko, who was trained as a lawyer in Russia and worked for the Brookings Institution in Washington from 2005-2010, had connections to Russian intelligence and tried to recruit two people connected to "an influential foreign policy advisor in the Obama administration," telling the pair that if they "did get a job in the government and had access to classified information," he had a way for them "to make a little extra money."

Danchenko also had contact with two other individuals who were the subjects of "FBI counterintelligence subjects" and had contact with "the Russian Embassy and known Russian intelligence officers." The FBI investigation into Danchenko only ended because he left the country.

So, to recap: the Steele dossier, which played a "central and essential role" in the FBI's decision and ability to seek a FISA warrant against Trump national-security adviser Carter Page — on the suspicion that he was colluding with the Kremlin — was based primarily on information provided by someone who the FBI had reason to believe was a Russian spy himself.

And the FBI knew all of this before Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe, which succeeded Crossfire Hurricane, even began. They identified Danchenko as Steele's primary subsource in December 2016 — but chose to continue the investigations anyway.

All of this information warranted next to no coverage in the country's major newspapers, which, if they covered the news at all, decided to instead focus on Republicans' reaction.

Graham said Sunday that last week's revelation is just the beginning.

"There's a day of reckoning coming just stay tuned, and there's more coming, there's something else coming, more damning than this believe it or not," he told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo.

And that's to say nothing of the parallel investigation being conducted by U.S. Attorney John Durham. Subtract the pandemic, a Supreme Court confirmation battle that could cement a conservative majority for a generation, and an election that we are constantly told is the most important of our lifetimes, and this news would shake Washington and the country to its core. But if last week is any indication, it will quickly be forgotten.

Trump Nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

President Trump announced Saturday that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, kicking off what is expected to be a tempestuous Senate confirmation battle less than six weeks before the November presidential election.

"Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation's most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the Supreme Court. She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution, Judge Amy Coney Barrett," Trump said at a press conference at the White House alongside Barrett.

"Amy Coney Barrett will decide cases based on the text of the Constitution as written," Trump said. "As Amy has said, being a judge takes courage. You are not there to decide cases as you may prefer. You are there to do your duty and to follow the law, wherever it may take you."

NYC Principals Union Votes 'No Confidence' in Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chancellor Richard Carranza

The executive board of New York City's school principals union on Sunday unanimously voted that they had "no confidence" in mayor Bill de Blasio and chancellor Richard Carranza, calling on the pair to relinquish control of the school system to the state just two days before the scheduled start of in-classroom learning for K-8 students.

The vote came after months of uncertainty for many students and staff as the system has repeatedly changed its approach to teaching in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators said it was calling on the state to intervene in part because there are more than 200 elementary school principals who still need a total of 1,200 teachers before K-8 site instruction begins Tuesday, while district higher-ups have encouraged principals to lie and cover up the staffing shortfalls, the New York Post reported. High school students are scheduled to return to the classroom Thursday. In-person teaching was delayed earlier this month and parents learned that their children would not be returning to school just days ahead of their planned start date. (NYPost)

Federal Court Blocks TikTok Download Ban

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's order prohibiting TikTok downloads in the U.S. on Sunday, less than four hours before the ban was set to begin.

The ruling from the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. will allow TikTok's owner, Chinese technology firm ByteDance, extra time to receive approval from the U.S. and Chinese governments for a deal with Oracle and Walmart, though a November 12 complete ban of the app still looms if a deal cannot be approved.

The Commerce Department said in a statement Sunday that it will obey the injunction but that it will continue to defend its implementation efforts from other legal challenges, the Wall Street Journal reported. (WSJ)

Lindsey Graham Hints There is 'More Damning' Information about the Russia Investigation to be Released

Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Sunday said to "stay tuned" for more "damning" information after he released records showing the main source for the Steele dossier had previously been the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation for his connections with Russian intelligence.

As part of the Senate panel's probe into the Russia investigation, Graham released declassified documents that showed the FBI had investigated Igor Danchenko, British former intelligence officer Christopher Steele's main source for his dossier, as a possible "threat to national security" a decade ago as a result of his connections with Russian intelligence.