The “Steele dossier” contained allegations that then-presidential candidate Donald Trump colluded with individuals linked to the Russian government to help him win the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton.
He also cited the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as a reason for the extension.
The deadline was initially set for March 29, and Durham asked for an extension until May 13.
“To date, the government has produced over 60,000 documents in unclassified discovery. A portion of these documents were originally marked ‘classified’ and the government has worked with the appropriate declassification authorities to produce the documents in an unclassified format,” Durham said in the filing submitted to federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
“However, recent world events in Ukraine have contributed to delays in the production of classified discovery,” he added. “The officials preparing and reviewing the documents at the FBI and intelligence agencies are heavily engaged in matters related to Ukraine. Nevertheless, the government will produce a large volume of classified discovery this week and will continue its efforts to produce documents in classified discovery on a rolling basis, and no later than the proposed deadlines set forth below.”
Igor Danchenko, a Eurasia political risk, defense, and economics analyst, was identified in July 2020 as the primary source for the Steele dossier.
The analyst provided information to Steele, who was hired by Fusion GPS, a Washington-based research strategic intelligence firm, to conduct opposition research on members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.
In turn, Fusion GPS was retained by law firm Perkins Coie on behalf of the Democratic National Committee.
“The FBI ultimately devoted substantial resources attempting to investigate and corroborate the allegations contained in” the dossier, including whether Danchenko’s sub-sources were reliable, the indictment states. The dossier and information provided by Danchenko “played a role in the FBI’s investigative decisions and in sworn representations that the FBI made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court throughout the relevant time period.”
Danchenko has pleaded not guilty.
Trump had repeatedly denied accusations that he colluded with Russia in an effort to win the 2016 presidential election, claiming he was the target of a “witch hunt” designed to discredit his presidency.
The dossier has been exposed as a collection of lies and made-up stories, prompting a number of criminal, congressional, and inspector general investigations into how the reports were used as the basis for surveilling Trump campaign officials.
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