Former Attorney General Bill Barr expressed disappointment Wednesday over the acquittal of Igor Danchenko, a key source in the Steele Dossier.
A federal jury found Danchenko not guilty on four counts of making false statements to the FBI regarding to the information he gave former British spy Christopher Steele’s Orbis Business Solutions. The now-discredited Steele dossier claimed that former President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
“I was disappointed, obviously,” Barr said. “I think they did a good job prosecuting the case. Their ability to put evidence on in a very difficult case was limited by some rulings and they weren’t able to get access to witnesses overseas. So it was a tough case and this should show people that it’s hard to win these cases and sometimes to achieve justice. But, as people say, and as Andy McCarthy said, real public interest was being served here by exposing full corruption that was involved here in the Russia case and the abuse of the FBI and that whole episode.”
Barr added that Special Counsel John Durham will release an official report on the facts of the case. He said there is a good chance of a further investigation into the matter in Congress if Republicans regain control of the House and Senate. (RELATED: Attorney General Bill Barr Wants To Know If Russia Probe Was Abuse Of Power)
Steele and his company were paid by the U.S. firm Fusion GPS, which attorneys for Democrats hired to investigate Trump, according to CBS News. A court document previously showed that Danchenko was a paid source for the FBI from March 2017 to 2020.