FBI supervisory counterintelligence analyst Brian Auten made the claim while providing testimony at the criminal trial of Igor Danchenko, a key source who supplied information for the anti-Trump dossier, which was commissioned by Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The trial is part of special counsel John Durham's criminal probe reviewing the origins of the 2016–2017 FBI investigation of the now disproved Trump–Russia collusion narrative.

Danchenko, a Russian national, is facing five counts of making false statements to the FBI during interviews with agents and faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to Auten, the $1 million offer was made when he and Steele met with a group of top FBI agents overseas in October 2021. At the time of the meeting, the agents were trying to corroborate claims Steele had made that Trump's campaign was colluding with Russia in order to win the election.

"Yes, it did," Auten told Durham when asked if the FBI offered Steele any incentive to provide evidence to back up his claims.

FBI Offered 'Anywhere up to a Million Dollars'

"Mr. Steele was offered anywhere up to a million dollars for any information … which could help prove the allegations," Auten added.

However, Auten said that the FBI ultimately never paid the money to Steele because he was unable to substantiate the claims made in his dossier. He also noted that Danchenko did not provide evidence for the dossier's allegations.

The FBI analyst also testified that other U.S. intelligence agencies looked into the claims made in the Steele dossier but were also unable to confirm the specific claims that were made.