In another embarrassing defeat for pro-Trump special counsel John Durham, the primary source for the infamous Trump-Russia dossier, Igor Danchenko, was acquitted Tuesday of four counts of lying to the FBI.
As noted by CNN, the verdict comes more than three years after Durham started looking for misconduct in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.
After deliberating for about nine hours at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all charges against Danchenko, a Russian expat and think tank analyst who provided the bulk of the material for the anti-Trump dossier. Durham initially charged Danchenko with five counts of lying to the FBI, but a judge threw out one of the charges on Friday.
The verdict means jurors weren’t persuaded by Durham’s allegations that Danchenko lied to the FBI about his contacts with a Belarusian-American businessman who was a possible source for the dossier.
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Durham has taken two cases to trial, and both have ended in acquittals. This time, his own witnesses after they ended up providing testimony that helped Danchenko’s defense.
Danchenko’s attorney Stuart Sears said his client is happy with the verdict.
“We’ve known all along that Mr. Danchenko was innocent. We’re happy now that the American public knows that as well,” Sears told reporters outside the courthouse, according to CNN. “We thank these jurors for their hard work and deliberation in reaching the right decision.”
Durham reacted to the verdict by saying: “While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service. I also want to recognize and thank the investigators and the prosecution team for their dedicated efforts in seeking truth and justice in this case.”
The verdict is a direct blow to Durham, who personally handled most of the arguments and witness questioning. It also represents a major loss for Donald Trump who won’t be able to use the case to claim “no collusion” with Russia.
