FBI Analyst Explains Why the Agency Offered Christopher Steele $1 Million

The FBI offered to pay ex-British spy Christopher Steele “up to $1 million” to prove allegations in his dossier about former President Trump, a senior FBI analyst testified Tuesday.

The cash offer came shortly before the 2016 presidential election during an overseas meeting between Steele and FBI agents, FBI supervisory analyst Brian Auten said during questioning by Special Counsel John Durham, noting that the money never came because the allegations could not be proven.

Still, the allegations were included in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide.

Auten’s testimony came during the trial of Igor Danchenko, a primary source for the dossier, who has pleaded not guilty to five counts of making false statements to the FBI.

Auten also said the FBI reached out to other intelligence agencies to see if they could corroborate information relating to dossier, which was commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee through law firm Perkins Coie.