UNMASKED
Secret source for anti-Trump Steele dossier is revealed as US-based researcher on Russian politics
THE secret source behind the infamous anti-Donald Trump dossier has been revealed as a US-based Russian politics researcher, according to reports.
Christopher Steele's insider is believed to be a resident who co-authored a research paper showing Russian President had .
Mark E. Schamel, an attorney for 42-year-old Igor Danchenko, told that his client provided the information to Steele, a former British spy.
Danchenko was an ex-Brookings Institution senior research analyst in and was not based in .
Nevertheless, the utilized Steele's dossier to obtain wiretaps of former campaign adviser, Carter Page.
“Igor Danchenko has been identified as one of the sources who provided data and analysis [to Steele],” Schamel confirmed.
Danchenko was known to the Feds, who interviewed him in 2017 about the information he provided to Steele.
The dossier allegedly showed Trump campaign ties to .
The Times reported that Danchenko cooperated with the FBI on the condition that his identity would remain anonymous.
But Attorney General directed the FBI declassify the report about its three-day interview of Danchenko.
The agency was instructed to pass it on to Senator Lindsey Graham.
The GOP senator's Judiciary Committee was probing the origins of the Russia investigation before Danchenko's name was released.
Graham said he wanted the interview to be public knowledge because it calls the dossier's credibility into question.
The bombshell documents were released on July 17, with Danchenko's name and identifying information redacted.
However, an online blog post titled "I Found the Primary Subsource" later identified Danchekno.
Russian news site RT published an article naming him.
Danchenko was born in .
Igor Danchenko has been identified as one of the sources who provided data and analysis [to Steele].
Lawyer Mark Schamel
He is Russian-trained lawyer who earned degrees at the University of Louisville and Georgetown University, the Times reported, and specializes in Russia and Eurasia research, analysis and consulting work in the DC area, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His Twitter bio reads: "Russia/Eurasia political & economic research & analysis, energy, due diligence."
He worked at the Brookings Institution for five years where he obtained Putin's dissertation and documented evidence of plagiarism until 2010.
The FBI renewed a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Page.
They described the primary sub-source of the document as "truthful," "cooperative" and "Russian-based," according to the Justice Department Inspector General report.
Danchenko reportedly lives in the US and visited Moscow to gather information for Steele's behalf.
Graham had previously said the FBI interview with the primary source called Steele's credibility into question.
According to his Judiciary committee, the document stated that the primary “source” of Steele’s election reporting was a non-Russian-based contract employee his Steele’s research firm Orbis Business Intelligence.
Last week, the committee said his information was "second and third-hand information and rumors at best."
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However, Danchenko's lawyer refuted this.
“Mr Danchenko is a highly respected senior research analyst; he is neither an author nor editor for any of the final reports produced by Orbis,” Schamel told The Times.
The lawyer said his client "stands by his data analysis and research and will leave it to others to evaluate and interpret any broader story with regard to Orbis’s final report.”
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