{"id":1357889,"date":"2022-03-04T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1357889"},"modified":"2022-03-04T07:53:47","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T12:53:47","slug":"spygate-figure-whose-attorney-outed-him-to-the-new-york-times-now-wants-his-name-hidden-in-court-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spygate-figure-whose-attorney-outed-him-to-the-new-york-times-now-wants-his-name-hidden-in-court-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Spygate Figure Whose Attorney Outed Him To The New York Times Now Wants His Name Hidden In Court Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspygate-figure-whose-attorney-outed-him-to-the-new-york-times-now-wants-his-name-hidden-in-court-documents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1357889&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2079563443_02b2a5ef39_k.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>No longer able to control the media narrative about Rodney Joffe\u2019s role in peddling the Alfa Bank hoax to the FBI and CIA, his attorneys now seek to silence Special Counsel John Durham. That revelation came from a brief docket entry in a federal district court earlier this week documenting a sealed motion to intervene that Joffe\u2019s lawyers had filed in the criminal case against Michael Sussman, in which they asked for references to \u201cTech Executive-1\u201d to be expunged from the court filings.<\/p>\n<p>The special counsel\u2019s office indicted Sussmann on September 16, 2021, charging the former Clinton campaign lawyer with one count of lying to FBI General Counsel James Baker when Sussmann provided Baker information purporting to show a secret communication channel between the Trump organization and the Russian-based Alfa Bank. Specifically, the indictment charged that \u201cSussmann lied about the capacity in which he was providing the allegations to the FBI,\u201d with Sussmann falsely stating \u201che was not doing his work on the aforementioned allegations \u2018for any client.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the indictment, Sussmann was acting \u201con behalf of specific clients, namely, (i) a U.S. technology industry executive (\u2018Tech Executive-1\u2019) at a U.S. Internet company (\u2018Internet Company-1\u2019), and (ii) the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign (the \u2018Clinton Campaign\u2019).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At no point in the indictment, or in later court filings, did Durham name Joffe as Tech Executive-1, or even for that matter name the \u201cU.S. Internet company\u201d at which Joffe worked. Nonetheless, in a transparent attempt to frame the narrative about his role in pushing the Alfa Bank hoax, Joffe\u2019s attorney confirmed that his client was \u201cTech Executive-1\u201d in an interview with The New York Times.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-new-york-times-helps-both-ways\">The New York Times Helps Both Ways<\/h2>\n<p>The Times\u2019 chief Clinton spinner, Charlie Savage, along with Adam Goldman, then provided Joffe\u2019s legal team a PR assist in the September 30, 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/01\/us\/politics\/trump-alfa-bank-indictment.html\">article<\/a>, \u201cTrump Server Mystery Produces Fresh Conflict.\u201d With a subhead proclaiming that internet researchers were pushing back on suggestions in the Sussman indictment that they did not believe their own Alfa Bank research, the Times article quoted Joffe\u2019s attorney, Steven A. Tyrrell, as he framed his client as merely a concerned tech expert.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis client had a duty to share the information with the F.B.I.,\u201d the Times reported Tyrrell as stating. Savage and Goldman then aided that take by noting that Joffe in 2013\u00a0\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20131029005948\/en\/Neustar%E2%80%99s-Rodney-Joffe-Receives-Prestigious-FBI-Director%E2%80%99s-Award\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">received the F.B.I. Director\u2019s Award<\/a>\u00a0for helping crack a cybercrime case, and retired this month from Neustar, another information services company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Joffe\u2019s attorneys outing him in the Times article, attorneys for Joffe\u2019s colleagues in the Alfa Bank \u201cresearch\u201d all went public on their clients\u2019 behalf too. \u201cThe indictment\u2019s \u2018Originator-1\u2019is April Lorenzen, chief data scientist at the information services firm Zetalytics,\u201d her attorney Michael J. Connolly confirmed. And \u201cthe indictment\u2019s \u2018Researcher-1\u2019 is another computer scientist at Georgia Tech, Manos Antonakakis,\u201d with \u201cResearcher-2\u201d confirmed as David Dagon by his lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>The Times article then proceeded to push the narrative that the researchers all stood by the Alfa Bank theory, with Joffe\u2019s attorney claiming their research \u201cculminated in the well-supported conclusions that were ultimately delivered to the F.B.I.\u201d Jody Westby and Mark Rasch, lawyers for Dagon, told the Times that \u201cthe Alfa Bank results \u2018have been validated and are reproducible. The findings of the researchers were true then and remain true today; reports that these findings were innocuous or a hoax are simply wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mark E. Schamel, the lawyer for the third researcher, Antonakakis, told the Times \u201chis client had provided \u2018feedback on an early draft of data that was cause for additional investigation.\u2019\u201d Schamel added, according to the Time, that \u201ctheir hypothesis\u201d \u201cto this day, remains a plausible working theory.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"pr-strategy-backfires\">PR Strategy Backfires<\/h2>\n<p>Confirming his identity to the Times and then going on the offensive likely seemed a strong strategy to Joffe\u2019s attorney, but once lawyers confirmed his identity, and those of Dagon, Antonakakis, and Lorenzen, journalists could conduct their own research, rather than merely serving as scribes to the self-interested lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s complicated matters because at times Joffe communicated with the researchers via email at Dagon and Antonakakis\u2019 Georgia Tech addresses, and Georgia law takes a very favorable view to transparency via its Right to Know law. Various Right to Know requests have revealed several <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/17\/emails-show-researchers-who-alleged-trump-links-to-russian-alfa-bank-were-anti-trump\/\">details<\/a> at odds with the preferred narrative.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, while Antonakakis\u2019 lawyer told Time the Alfa Bank \u201chypothesis\u201d \u201cto this day, remains a plausible working theory,\u201d emails obtained by a Right to Know request show \u201cResearcher 1,\u201d as Antonakakis called himself in the email, \u201cnever supported the article.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist asked Antonakakis\u2019 attorney how he could reconcile his statement to the Times that the hypothesis of the white paper \u201cthat there are hidden communications between Trump and Alfa Bank\u201d \u201cto this day, remains a plausible working theory\u201d with Antonakakis\u2019\u00a0separate private statement that he \u201cnever supported the article.\u201d His attorney did not respond to the request for clarification.<\/p>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/sleuthscorner.docdroid.com\/ZCfDD64\/gt-docs-consolidated-to-feb-12-pdf#page=52\">email<\/a> from Antonakakis from August 20, 2016 to Lorenzen, with Joffe copied, had the Georgia Tech researcher saying \u201cthe conclusion here is that there is no conclusion.\u201d Later that day Joffe would respond, \u201cfuck <sigh>\u201d in an email to Antonakakis concerning the first analysis, a seeming reference to the Alfa research given that Lorenzen and Dagon were both copied on the email.<\/sigh><\/p>\n<p>A Right to Know request also revealed that Antonakakis\u2019 attorney viewed Joffe\u2019s \u201c\u2018fuck\u2019 email response\u201d as \u201cindicating that the preliminary analysis did not produce a definite answer,\u201d but he claimed that doesn\u2019t mean communications didn\u2019t occur.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"when-things-are-good-go-to-nyt-when-bad-sue\">When Things Are Good, Go To NYT. When Bad, Sue<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to these emails, others provided in response to a Right to Know request to Georgia Tech document anti-Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/17\/emails-show-researchers-who-alleged-trump-links-to-russian-alfa-bank-were-anti-trump\/\">vitriol<\/a> that also doesn\u2019t serve Joffe\u2019s PR push. Such growing negative attention, coupled with the special counsel\u2019s continued use of legal filings in the Sussmann case to detail how the Alfa Bank hoax (and the related Russian cell phone canard) went down, provide a backdrop to Joffe\u2019s motion that seeks to force Durham to remove references to Tech Executive-1 in past (and likely future) court filings.<\/p>\n<p>Although Joffe\u2019s motion is sealed, the docket entry notes he presents a constitutional claim. That constitutional claim is likely premised on the due process clause of the Constitution, as courts have found due process violations when the government names an unindicted individual in an indictment or later court filings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard \u2018at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner,\u201d precedent teaches. Yet a named, but unindicted, individual \u201cis not afforded a forum in which he can attempt to vindicate himself.\u201d Expungement of the individual\u2019s name is appropriate in those circumstances, absent an important governmental interest to identifying the individual.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"joffe-s-attorney-named-him-publicly-first\">Joffe\u2019s Attorney Named Him Publicly First<\/h2>\n<p>The problem for Joffe, however, is that the government did not name him. To the contrary, the special counsel\u2019s office complied with Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/jm\/jm-9-27000-principles-federal-prosecution\">guidelines<\/a> that provide that \u201cfederal prosecutors should remain sensitive to the privacy and reputation interests of uncharged third-parties,\u201d and neither name them or provide an \u201cunnecessarily-specific description\u201d of the individual. <\/p>\n<p>For instance, the guidelines explain, a third party can be referred to generically in most cases such as \u201ca Member of Congress,\u201d as opposed to \u201cSenator X.\u201d And uncharged third parties can be referred to as \u201can individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In this case, Durham\u2019s team used generic descriptions and neither named Joffe nor provided an \u201cunnecessarily-specific description.\u201d Also, it was not Durham who outed Joffe, but his attorney when he confirmed Joffe\u2019s identity as Tech Executive-1 to The New York Times as part of an apparent PR move.<\/p>\n<p>While it is true that by the time Joffe\u2019s attorney confirmed his identity it was widely understood that Joffe was Tech Executive-1, that belief came not from Durham\u2019s indictment but from internet sleuths who had been following the Alfa Bank civil lawsuit. In fact, one Twitter investigator who goes by Fool Nelson, along with assists from another using the moniker <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/walkafyre\/status\/1427817436292816901\">Walkafyre<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOOL_NELSON\/status\/1433189617973485574\">identified<\/a> Joffe, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOOL_NELSON\/status\/1433193856644915201\/photo\/1\">Dagon<\/a>, and Lorenzen as responsible for the Alfa Bank research even before the indictment dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Because the special counsel\u2019s office did not identify Joffe, either by name or in all but name, Durham has nothing to answer for. Whether the court will agree, however, is another question. The court may believe that now that Joffe\u2019s identity is known, future filings must omit any reference to Tech Executive-1, or maybe even be filed under seal.<\/p>\n<p>The latter solution, however, raises other constitutional concerns, namely the First Amendment right to access to criminal court proceedings, which Durham\u2019s team will likely stress in its response to Joffe\u2019s motion. That response is due today, but given the court ordered the special counsel\u2019s office to file it under seal, we will be without further insights until the court issues its decision.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Margot Cleveland is a senior contributor to The Federalist. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. <\/p>\n<p>Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize\u2014the law school\u2019s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. <\/p>\n<p>As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No longer able to control the media narrative about Rodney Joffe\u2019s role in peddling the Alfa Bank hoax to the FBI and CIA, his attorneys now seek to silence Special<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1357889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1357889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1357889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1357889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1357889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}