Revelation emerged Tuesday in federal trial of Russian information analyst Igor Danchenko, who is charged with lying to the FBI.
An FBI analyst told Special Counsel John Durham on Tuesday in federal court that the agency offered former British spy Christopher Steele “up to $1 million” to corroborate evidence in his now-discredited dossier that was central to a federal investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.
The revelation appears to show the FBI, according to the testimony from intelligence analyst Brian Auten, had insufficient solid evidence for the FISA warrant for Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in its investigation and used uncorroborated information to move forward with the probe.
Auten said that Steele never got the money because he wasn’t able to prove the allegations.
Durham asked Auten, “On October 21, 2016 (the date of the Carter Page FISA application) did you have any information to corroborate that information?”
“No,” Auten replied.