The indictment of Igor Danchenko revealed more deep ties between the Steele dossier and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. It also incriminates the Brookings Institution, a prominent Washington think tank, for giving legitimacy to the infamous dossier.
Special counsel John Durham indicted Danchenko earlier this month. The Russian national supposedly lied to FBI agents about the information he collected for the Steele dossier.
Danchenko and most notably, Michael Sussmann, have suspected ties to the Clinton campaign. According to Danchenko's indictment, he lied about getting intel on Donald Trump from Russian-American business executive Charles Dolan. Dolan previously worked for Hillary Clinton.
The FBI later used Danchenko's information to conduct surveillance on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
A Final Blow to Steele's Obscene Allegations?
Danchenko was responsible for passing along the most salacious parts of the dossier, including rumors of an alleged sex tape involving Donald Trump and Russian prostitutes. The baseless claim preyed on the anti-Trump media's gullibility. It worked like a charm.
Sussmann, meanwhile, faces one count of lying to the FBI. The indictment against the cybersecurity lawyer alleges that he deceived federal agents when he said that he wasn't working for anyone. Sussmann allegedly advised the 2016 Clinton campaign. Moreover, Sussmann's firm, Perkins Coie, retained the company that complied the Steele dossier.
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All three men indicted by Durham so far (including former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith) have close ties to the Brookings Institution that go beyond the loose connections D.C. professionals have from mingling with Washington's ruling class. In fact, Danchenko, specialized in Russia and Eurasian affairs as an analyst at the institution. He now faces up to 25 years in prison.
The Think Tank at the Center of It All
These revelations have led to accusations that the Brookings Institution lies at the epicenter of the discredited dossier, which the Clinton campaign apparently orchestrated in an attempt to shift the media's gaze away from its candidate's email controversy.
Writing for Fox News, legal scholar Jonathan Turley explains how Durham's investigation into the Trump-Russia investigators has opened the Brookings Institution to harsh scrutiny:
Brookings played a large role in pushing the Russian collusion narrative, hiring a variety of experts who then populated media outlets like MSNBC and CNN stating confidently that Trump was clearly incriminated in a series of dubious criminal acts.
While no such crimes were ever charged, let alone prosecuted, Brookings maintained a deep bench of enabling experts like Susan Hennessey (now a national security adviser in the Biden administration), Ben Wittes (who defended James Comey in his leaking of FBI memos) and Norm Eisen (who then become counsel in the Trump impeachment effort). This included the Brookings site, LawFare, which ran a steady stream of columns on how Trump could be charged for crimes ranging from obstruction to bribery.
However, that type of media cross-pollination is common. What is most surprising is how the indictment seems to map out roads that keep leading back to Brookings:
The latest indicted figure, Danchenko, worked at Brookings. He proved to be the key unnamed source for Christopher Steele and later admitted to the FBI that the information attributed to him was not just “unsubstantiated” but, after being reworked by Steele, was unrecognizable from the original gossip or speculation. Steele himself was introduced to Danchenko.
According to Turley, Fiona Hill—a fellow Brookings employee—introduced Danchenko to Christopher Steele. Hill later served on then-President Trump's National Security Council and testified against him in his first impeachment trial.
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
It isn’t beneficial to watch or listen to the news reports anymore except for sports weather and local events. Political news is completely worthless.