Durham shocker: Danchenko was a paid FBI informant
This motion provides new information on the details of Danchenko’s lies to the FBI, further information on how Special Counsel Mueller ignored Danchenko’s false statements, expected testimony from Clinton-connected executive Charles Dolan, and one crazy development. For background purposes, here’s our discussion on the Danchenko indictment and what the FBI knew about Danchenko’s Clinton connections. Recall that Danchenko was indicted for multiple false statements given to federal officials during the Trump/Russia investigation. There were a series of interviews, from January 2017 through the fall of 2017. (His interviews took place pre-Mueller and post-Mueller.) He has been charged with:
The Motion in Limine When the Steele Reports were released, the media picked-up on the most salacious rumors, one that was utterly unbelievable: that Russian intelligence had a video of Trump involved with prostitutes at the Moscow Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Also known as the “pee tape.” The allegation came from Danchenko, who attributed it to his sources - one from the Ritz-Carlton, and another being Sergei Millian. Durham will refute it, as it expects to call at trial “Bernd Kuhlen,” the then-general manager of the Ritz-Carlton, who will deny speaking with or ever meeting Danchenko “in June 20165, or at any time.”
Then there are Danchenko’s false statements about Charles Dolan, an influential Democrat executive with ties to the Clintons. Interestingly, it was Dolan who was given a tour of the Ritz-Carlton Presidential Suite, which was the supposed location of “Trump’s alleged lurid sexual activities.” The Reactionary is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In fact, Dolan is expected to testify at trial. According to Durham:
What is Durham’s theory on Danchenko’s motive for lying about the Ritz-Carlton allegations? Because it reflects “a deliberate effort to conceal from the FBI Charles Dolan’s role as a source for the Steele Reports and to deceive the FBI regarding Millian’s role (or lack thereof).” In support of the theory that Danchenko engaged in an “over-arching ‘plan’ to deceive the FBI” about his work for Orbis (the company who collected the information contained in the Steele Reports), Durham also plans to introduce:
There’s more. Back in February 2016, nearly a year before his FBI interview and months before he started collecting information for Christopher Steele, Danchenko told a former employer how to fabricate sources:
The E-Mails and Steele’s Representations to the FBI Also expected at trial, if allowed by the judge, are e-mails to/from Danchenko where he discusses his unsuccessful efforts to reach Millian.
We brought up Mueller back at the introduction, and here’s why. Steele relayed information to the Mueller Special Counsel about the Millian/Danchenko meetings that they knew was false. What did Team Mueller do with that information? They buried it from the FISA Court and from the public. After all, Danchenko was now paid by the FBI. Sergei Millian Will Not Testify at Trial. Sergei Millian, a key witness for Durham, will not testify at trial. Millian is currently abroad. He has voiced his concerns for his safety, stating he does not trust the FBI. Can’t really blame him at this point. At this point, Durham can’t compel Millian’s attendance. Certainly Millian is a key witness. But key doesn’t mean necessarily mean essential. The Danchenko e-mails and inconsistent claims are damning enough, and he can be convicted in Millian’s absence. It hurts - but isn’t fatal to - Durham’s case. The FBI’s prior counterintelligence investigation of Danchenko. When reports surfaced of Danchenko’s imminent indictment, we made an educated guess that he would be charged for giving false statements relating to his prior contacts with Russian intelligence. ![]() ![]() Charlie Savage @charlie_savage Exclusive: To partly answer Trump's q re Durham, he's been scrutinizing the Steele dossier. Among other things, in Feb he obtained by subpoena records from Brookings Institution on the dossier's main researcher, who used to work there. w/ @adamgoldmanNYT https://t.co/czuLk1J3uQApril 12th 2021 441 Retweets903 LikesBack in 2008, while Danchenko was employed with the Brookings Institute, he had approached “two fellow employees about whether one of the employees might be willing or able in the future to provide classified information in exchange for money.” The conducted a full investigation into Danchenko after learning he “had been identified as an associate of two FBI counterintelligence subjects and (2) had previous contact with the Russian Embassy and known Russian intelligence officers.” While we were perhaps too optimistic about those false statement charges (not without good reason - Durham points out Dancheno’s denials about contacts with Russian intelligence), Durham is seeking to introduce evidence of those lies to establish that Danchenko’s lies were material. The rationale? That the question of whether Danchenko conducted work on behalf of Russian intelligence (not the allegation, just the question) could be important to investigators. Even if the Comey/Mueller investigators didn’t want to dig that deep. Other FBI Investigations. We also note that Durham expects Danchenko’s defense to “introduce evidence of FBI investigations into other individuals who the Government anticipates will feature prominently at trial.” What other individuals? Millian and Dolan and Steele, for starters. You’re a free subscriber to The Reactionary. For the full experience, become a paid subscriber. |









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