Special Counsel Durham's lead prosecutor withdraws from next up Danchenko case

Special Counsel John Durham's lead prosecutor has withdrawn from the case of Igor Danchenko, a source for the Christopher Steele dossier, less than two months before the trial is scheduled to begin.

The filing to withdraw was submitted late Sunday by Assistant Special Counsel Andrew DeFilippis, The Washington Times reported.

There are no other details offered in the filing, and the Justice Department has yet to respond to a request for comment. 

Durham was appointed in 2020 by the Justice Department to be a special counsel to investigate the federal government's probe into alleged collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.

The investigation includes learning about the origins of the now-discredited Steele, created to try to find dirt on then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. 

DeFilippis didn't immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Just the News.

In May, DeFilippis led the prosecution of former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, whom a Washington, D.C., jury found not guilty this summer of lying to the FBI about the alleged Trump-Russia collusion.

DeFilippis was also a top prosecutor in the special counsel's case against former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to doctoring an email that was used to justify a surveillance warrant targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Danchenko's trial is scheduled to start Oct. 16. He was charged last fall for repeatedly lying to the FBI about compiling information for the dossier. Danchenko has pleaded not guilty.