{"id":1363439,"date":"2022-03-07T23:16:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1363439"},"modified":"2022-03-07T23:17:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:17:01","slug":"special-counsel-john-durham-asks-court-to-deny-sussmanns-motion-to-dismiss-without-merit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-john-durham-asks-court-to-deny-sussmanns-motion-to-dismiss-without-merit\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Counsel John Durham Asks Court to Deny Sussmann&#039;s Motion to Dismiss: &#039;Without Merit&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/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%2Fspecial-counsel-john-durham-asks-court-to-deny-sussmanns-motion-to-dismiss-without-merit%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=1363439&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--><p class=\"subheading\">Special Counsel John Durham in his most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/562651017\/44-US-Response-to-Michael-Sussmann-motion-to-dismiss\">recent filing<\/a> on Friday argued against dismissing charges against lawyer Michael Sussmann for lying to the FBI in 2016 when he said he was not representing any client when presenting them with data he claimed showed a relationship between the Trump campaign and Russia \u2014 when he was allegedly working for the Clinton campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Durham argued in his March 4 filing that Sussmann lying to the FBI about not working for any client \u2014 namely the Clinton campaign \u2014 when he presented the FBI with that data less than two months before the 2016 election prevented the FBI from fully understanding and vetting the source of that data and may have influenced the FBI\u2019s launching an investigation into the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>As Durham reiterated in his filing, Sussmann, who was a lawyer at Perkins Coie, which was serving as counsel to the Clinton campaign, met with FBI General Counsel Jim Baker at the FBI Headquarters less than two months before the election. He provided Baker with \u201cpurported data\u201d and \u201cwhite papers\u201d that allegedly\u00a0demonstrated a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, a Russian bank.<\/p>\n<p>Durham wrote that Sussmann\u2019s argument \u2014 that his alleged false statement to Baker is \u201cimmaterial as matter of law\u201d \u2014 is an argument \u201cwithout merit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Durham argued that Sussmann\u2019s \u201cfalse statement was capable of influencing both the FBI\u2019s decision to initiate an investigation and its subsequent conduct of that investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe defendant\u2019s false statement to the FBI General Counsel was plainly material because it misled the General Counsel about, among other things, the critical fact that the defendant was disseminating highly explosive allegations about a then-Presidential candidate on behalf of two specific clients, one of which was the opposing Presidential campaign,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He added:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The defendant\u2019s efforts to mislead the FBI in this manner during the height of a Presidential election season plainly could have influenced the FBI\u2019s decision-making in any number of ways. The defendant\u2019s core argument to the contrary rests on the flawed premise that the FBI\u2019s only relevant decision was binary in nature, i.e., whether or not to initiate an investigation. But defendant\u2019s assertion in this regard conveniently ignores the factual and practical realities of how the FBI initiates and conducts investigations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Durham said he expects evidence will prove that the FBI could have taken other steps than open a \u201cfull investigation\u201d on the Trump campaign, such as conducting an assessment or opening a preliminary investigation, or delaying a decision until after the election, or declining to investigate the matter altogether.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Indeed, a host of factors play into the FBI\u2019s decision of whether and how to initiate an investigation, which include, among others, the source and origins of the information. Here, had the defendant truthfully informed the FBI General Counsel that he was providing the information on behalf of one or more clients, as opposed to merely acting as a \u2018good citizen,\u2019 the FBI General Counsel and other FBI personnel might have asked a multitude of additional questions material to the case initiation process. They might have asked, for example, whether the defendant\u2019s clients harbored any political biases or business motives that might cast doubt on the reliability of the information.<\/p>\n<p>And they also likely would have conducted additional, behind-the-scenes steps (database checks, case file searches, etc.) to assess the defendant\u2019s potential motivations and those of his clients. Indeed, it is obvious that a lawyer presenting himself as a paid advocate for a client naturally raises specific concerns related to bias, motivation, and the reliability of the information being provided. Moreover, the Department of Justice and the FBI maintain stringent guidelines on dealing with matters that bear on U.S. elections.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He wrote that contrary to Sussmann\u2019s argument that his motivation in providing the information to the FBI is \u201cimmaterial,\u201d a person\u2019s motivation in\u00a0providing information to the FBI can be a \u201chighly material fact in determining whether and how the FBI opens an investigation and then conducts an investigation it has opened.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAnd the evidence will show that it would have been all the more material here because the defendant was providing this information on behalf of the Clinton Campaign less than two months prior to a hotly contested U.S. presidential election. In sum, the evidence will demonstrate that the defendant\u2019s false statement to the FBI General Counsel had the capacity to influence the lawful function of the FBI as it related to the case initiation phase,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20148730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Michael-Sussmann-on-CSPAN.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20148730\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Michael-Sussmann-on-CSPAN.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Sussmann (CSPAN\/screengrab)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Sussmann (CSPAN\/screengrab)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Durham also dismissed Sussmann\u2019s argument that the charges would criminalize First Amendment speech.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe defendant\u2019s inflated concerns about overreach and overcriminalization should be rejected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Durham also argued that the First Amendment does not protect false statements to government agencies.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote, \u201cFar from finding himself in the vulnerable position of an ordinary person whose speech is likely to be chilled, the defendant \u2013 a sophisticated and well-connected lawyer \u2013 chose to bring politically-charged allegations to the FBI\u2019s chief legal officer at the height of an election season. He then chose to lie about the clients who were behind those allegations. Using such rare access to the halls of power for the purposes of political deceit is hardly the type of speech that the Founders intended to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>He also dismissed Sussmann\u2019s argument that the charge would imperil communications between lawyers and the government as \u201cfanciful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a former government attorney and prosecutor, the defendant was well aware that the law required him to be honest and forthright when communicating with the FBI. Despite that knowledge, the defendant chose to conceal from the FBI that he was acting as a paid advocate for clients with political and business agendas,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis false statement deprived the FBI of critical information that might have permitted it to better allocate its resources, make critical decisions regarding the opening or conduct of the investigation, and examine the origins of the purported data,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat lawyers should be honest in their dealings with federal law enforcement agencies is not an imposition that the Constitution prohibits. It is an expectation that undergirds the integrity of our legal system,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Follow Breitbart News\u2019s Kristina Wong on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/kristina_wong\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kristinawongreporting\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Counsel John Durham in his most recent filing on Friday argued against dismissing charges against lawyer Michael Sussmann for lying to the FBI in 2016 when he said he<\/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-1363439","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\/1363439","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=1363439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363439\/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=1363439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}