A key source who provided information to British ex-spy Christopher Steele for his 'dirty dossier' of allegations against Donald Trump has been arrested in the U.S. and was held for several hours before being released.
Igor Y. Danchenko, a Russian-born analyst living in the United States, was arrested Thursday in Virginia by federal agents assigned to John H. Durham's special counsel inquiry into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, according to the Justice Department.
He is charged with five counts of lying to FBI agents about the sources he used in collecting information for Steele, who is identified in the indictment only as 'UK Person-1'.
At a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday afternoon, prosecutors did not ask that Danchenko be detained as he awaits trial.
Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan ordered Danchenko's release on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Igor Danchenko is seen leaving the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria on Thursday
Danchenko did not stop to speak to the waiting reporters as he left the courthouse
Danckenko was freed on Thursday on a $100,000 bond
The Russian has been charged with five counts of lying to the FBI over his sources for the Steele dossier
Danchenko, 43, was the primary researcher for Steele's dossier alleging that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russia in a covert operation to beat Hillary Clinton, and that Russia had salacious videos that could be used to blackmail Trump.
Many of the dossier's claims remain unproven or have been debunked, though the document was cited by the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller in secret warrant applications to spy on a Trump campaign advisor.
Charles H. Dolan Jr, also known as Chuck, was revealed as a source for Danchenko's story
The indictment alleges that Danchenko lied to federal investigators by saying that he had not gotten information about Trump from a certain US-based executive at an American public relations firm, who had deep and longstanding ties to the Democratic Party.
In fact, Danchenko did communicate with the unnamed PR exec, and used him as a key source for one or more of the allegations in the Steele report, according to the indictment.
The PR executive was revealed on Thursday as Charles Dolan, a state chairman for both of Bill Clinton's successful presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996, and an advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.
'Chuck understands and appreciates your interest. I can confirm that he is PR Executive-1 in the indictment,' said his lawyer, Ralph Drury Martin, in a statement.
'As he is a witness in an ongoing case, it would not be appropriate for Chuck to comment further on the allegations in the indictment at this time.'
He was also the chairman of a national Democratic political organization at one point, and actively campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to the indictment.
Dolan worked for both Bill and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns
Donald Trump has always insisted that the Steele dossier was full of untruths
Igor Danchenko, a Russian-born analyst living in the United States, was arrested on Thursday by federal agents assigned to John H. Durham's special counsel inquiry
Special Counsel John H. Durham is investigating whether the FBI's Trump-Russia probe, code-named 'Crossfire Hurricane,' was opened and conducted legally
However, the arrested man's father Yuri Danchenko, 68, spoke to DailyMail.com from his home in Perm, Russia, saying: 'Of course, I am very worried about my son. But I don't plan to fly to America yet.'
'We will wait for the development of the situation for now,' he added. 'I have just read the news about the detention of my son. He did not contact me, I did not speak to him on the phone. I will not take any action.'
Danchenko's father Yuri (above) spoke to DailyMail.com from his home in Perm, Russia
On his fears for his son, he said: 'He will figure it out himself, Igor is legally literate. His wife is also a legally literate person.'
Danchenko's wife, a corporate attorney in DC, did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com.
A Justice Department spokesman confirmed Danchenko's arrest, which was first reported by The New York Times.
Danchenko's lawyer said he intended to hand himself in, but the leak to the media meant he was arrested instead.
The indictment against Danchenko was issued on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he is believed to live in the DC suburb of Alexandria.
The charging document outlines five instances in which Danchenko allegedly lied to FBI agents about his work on the Steele dossier.
In addition to lying about contact with Dolan, Danchenko is accused in four counts of fabricating information about an anonymous phone call he claimed he received in July 2016 from someone he believed to be the president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.
The information purportedly conveyed by the anonymous caller included the allegation that there were ongoing communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, and that the Kremlin might help get Trump elected. The indictment claims the purported call never took place.
The most explosive allegations in the indictment related to Dolan, whose relationship with Danchenko is detailed at length.
Danchenko was the primary researcher for British ex-spy Christopher Steele's (above) dossier alleging that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russia in a covert operation
According to the indictment, an employee at a DC think tank introduced Danchenko to Dolan in February 2016.
Subsequently, the two men discussed collaborating in Danchenko's work for Steele, and Dolan enlisted Danchenko's help planning a conference for business executives in Moscow in October 2016.
Dolan said of Danchenko in a June 2016 email to an acquaintance: 'He is too young for KGB. But I think he worked for FSB,' referring to Russia's Federal Security Service, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB.
'Since he told me he spent two years in Iran. And when I first met him he knew more about me than I did. [winking emoji],' the email added.
Danchenko has publicly denied being a Russian spy.
Dolan has not been charged.
According to the indictment, Danchenko told Dolan in an August 16, 2016 email that he had a 'project against Trump' and asked for 'any thought, rumor, allegation' regarding the resignation of Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, who is identified in the indictment as 'Campaign Manager-1'.
Dolan responded in an email that he'd had a 'drink with a GOP friend' and shared gossip that former Trump campaign manager
