During the trial of Igor Danchenko, a key source for the Steele dossier, Special Counsel John Durham lost control of his first witness, an FBI intelligence analyst who testified he wrote glowing reviews of the defendant and wanted him to work as an FBI informant, CNN reports. This caused Durham to try to impeach his own witness in re-direct.
Bruce Auten, the FBI analyst who oversaw early parts of the investigation into Trump connections, initially testified as a prosecution witness, backing up Durham’s argument that Danchenko held back information that would have helped the FBI’s investigation into the Steele dossier. However, under questioning by the defense attorney, Auten acknowledged that he wrote glowing reviews of Danchenko’s cooperation, calling him “one of the best things that came out of” the Russia probe.
Durham took up questioning after the defense finished, with Durham pointing out that Auten had at one time been recommended for suspension by his FBI superiors, a fact not uncovered by the defense but one Durham used to undermine his witness’s own reputation.