Judge dismisses one count in Danchenko trial on allegedly lying to FBI, insufficient evidence cited

The judge in Special Counsel John Durham's trial on Igor Danchenko on Friday dismissed one of the five federal counts the Russian intelligence expert was facing for allegedly lying to the FBI, after the defense team made the request, arguing prosecutors has failed to provide sufficient evidence.

The count – one of five – was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga in a federal court in northern Virginia.

The count alleged Danchenko lied to FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson when he said he had not "talked" to longtime Democratic operative and PR executive Charles Dolan about information that went into the so-called Steele dossier to which Danchenko provided 80% of its information.