Key Source on Trump Dirt File Arrested in Durham Investigation

REUTERSThe primary researcher on the so-called Steele dossier—a 2016 compilation of raw intelligence into potential coordination between then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian government officials to help him win the election—was arrested Thursday by federal agents, The New York Times reported.Citing sources “familiar with the matter,” the Times said Igor Danchenko was taken into custody by the FBI as part of a special counsel inquiry overseen by Trump appointee John H. Durham, who was tasked with rooting out any improprieties in the origins and use of the dossier. The charges facing Danchenko are unknown at this time, as the indictment against him has not yet been unsealed.Danchenko worked on the dossier for former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who, it turned out, had been hired to compile opposition research with indirect funding from the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Many of the assertions included in the report were based on rumor and hearsay, which Danchenko defended at the time as business as usual.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here