{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/2022/9/sens-johnson-grassley-demand-explanation-for-fbi-s-reliance-on-debunked-anti-trump-dossier-sub-source-who-sought-to-traffic-classified-information", "Sens. Johnson, Grassley Demand Explanation for FBI\u2019s Reliance on Debunked Anti-Trump Dossier Sub-Source Who Sought to Traffic Classified Information", "2022-09-26", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "WI", "Ron Johnson", "J000293", "www.ronjohnson.senate.gov", "ronjohnson", "https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray demanding an explanation for why Igor Danchenko, an anti-Trump dossier sub-source who sought to traffic classified information, was placed on payroll and paid by the taxpayer to assist in the federal government\u2019s flawed investigation into President Trump.\n\nBefore Danchenko became the dossier\u2019s primary sub-source, the FBI considered him a counterintelligence threat. Danchenko\u2019s background includes interactions with Russian intelligence services and offers to procure and sell U.S. government secrets.\n\n\u201cThis extraordinary fact pattern requires additional information from the Justice Department and FBI relating to why Danchenko was placed on the payroll and paid by the taxpayer to assist in the federal government\u2019s flawed investigation into President Trump,\u201d the senators wrote.\n\nSince 2016, Sens. Johnson, Grassley and others have raised a number of concerns about Crossfire Hurricane given its reliance on unverified \u2013 and now debunked \u2013 allegations from dubious sources who were paid by the Hillary Clinton Campaign and Democratic National Committee.\n\nJohnson and Grassley are seeking all FBI and Justice Department records related to government payments to Danchenko, the counterintelligence concerns he posed and the FBI\u2019s decision to rely on him.\n\nRead more about the letter in Fox News.\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found here and below.\n\nSeptember 21, 2022\n\nThe Honorable Merrick Garland\n\nAttorney General\n\nDepartment of Justice\n\nThe Honorable Christopher Wray\n\nDirector\n\nFederal Bureau of Investigation\n\nDear Attorney General Garland and Director Wray:\n\nOn September 2, 2022, Special Counsel John Durham filed a motion in limine with respect to the Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) case against Igor Danchenko, Christopher Steele\u2019s primary sub-source, for lying to federal investigators.[1] In that motion, Special Counsel Durham noted that, \u201c[i]n March 2017, the [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] signed [Danchenko] up as a paid confidential human source of the FBI. The FBI terminated its source relationship with the defendant in October 2020.\u201d[2]\n\nAs you are aware, in May 2009, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into Danchenko based on his reported attempts to facilitate payment for classified information. Specifically, a declassified summary of the investigation noted that Danchenko approached several individuals at a work-related event in 2008 and \u201cindicated that if the two individuals at the table \u2018did get a job in the government and had access to classified information\u2019 and \u2018wanted to make a little extra money,\u2019\u201d Danchenko knew individuals who they could speak to.[3] The summary further stated that an individual interviewed by the FBI expressed the possibility that Danchenko could be \u201ca Russian spy.\u201d[4]\n\nThe preliminary investigation then proceeded to a full investigation because Danchenko was identified as an associate of two FBI counterintelligence subjects.[5] The FBI also determined that Danchenko had contact in 2006 with the Russian Embassy and known Russian intelligence officers.[6] The FBI also learned that during the course of Danchenko\u2019s contacts with Russian intelligence officers, he appeared to be involved in the transmission of Russian documents at the request of a Russian Intelligence Officer.[7]\n\nIn December 2016, the FBI\u2019s Crossfire Hurricane team identified Danchenko as Steele\u2019s primary sub-source and, according to the FBI, \u201cbecame familiar with the 2009 investigation.\u201d[8] The FBI, even in light of the extensive derogatory information attached to Danchenko, proceeded to pay him as a confidential human source three months later from March 2017 to October 2020 as part of Crossfire Hurricane. Therefore, while we were investigating the Justice Department\u2019s and FBI\u2019s misconduct with respect to Crossfire Hurricane, you maintained him on the government\u2019s payroll.\n\nThis extraordinary fact pattern requires additional information from the Justice Department and FBI relating to why Danchenko was placed on the payroll and paid by the taxpayer to assist in the federal government\u2019s flawed investigation into President Trump.\n\nAccordingly, no later than October 22, 2022, please provide all records relating to government payments made to Danchenko, the counterintelligence investigation into him and his later hiring.[9]\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/2022/9/sens-johnson-grassley-demand-explanation-for-fbi-s-reliance-on-debunked-anti-trump-dossier-sub-source-who-sought-to-traffic-classified-information"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7401970215141773, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}