The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has offered former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele $1 million to prove a dossier he compiled about former President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia.
This was stated in testimony to the court by FBI analyst Brian Oten.
Auten stated that Steele did not receive the money because he could not even name their sources and limited himself to their general description.
Otten stated that in October 2016 he traveled to the United Kingdom with several of his colleagues to “interview” Steele about his case and then offered him a financial reward.
After the 2016 presidential election, the US authorities, relying on the Steele dossier, investigated Trump’s “collusion” with Russia, but in the end could not prove anything.
Otin was a witness in the trial of Russian Igor Danchenko, who, according to investigators, participated in the drafting of the Steele case and is now accused of providing the FBI with knowingly false data.
The indictment states that Danchenko did not receive such information from anyone and “fabricated the facts”, and Igor denies his guilt and what is attributed to him.
U.S. prosecutors allege that Danchenko lied to the FBI about sources he provided to Steele about “communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials,” including information that the Kremlin may have helped Trump’s election.
The credibility of the file has steadily declined over time, with the Department of Justice Inspector General saying in a 2019 report that many of Steele’s claims were nothing more than gossip or speculation.
Source: agencies