{"id":1428160,"date":"2022-04-11T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1428160"},"modified":"2022-04-11T08:00:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T12:00:51","slug":"one-key-argument-for-michael-sussmanns-defense-has-crumbled-already-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-key-argument-for-michael-sussmanns-defense-has-crumbled-already-2\/","title":{"rendered":"One Key Argument For Michael Sussmann\u2019s Defense Has Crumbled Already"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fone-key-argument-for-michael-sussmanns-defense-has-crumbled-already-2%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=1428160&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\/04\/22389367255_e8737e0b71_k.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Former Hillary Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann\u2019s defenders have already been proven wrong on their claim that prosecutors will have a hard time proving Sussmann told the FBI that he was sharing Alfa Bank \u201cintel\u201d on his own, and not on behalf of a client.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after Special Counsel John Durham <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.235638\/gov.uscourts.dcd.235638.1.0_7.pdf\">charged<\/a> Sussmann with making a false statement to former FBI General Counsel James Baker when he provided Baker with data and three \u201cwhite papers\u201d purporting to establish a secret communication channel between the Trump organization and the Russia-based Alfa Bank, Sussmann\u2019s friends, former colleagues, and political bedfellows launched a defense of the former Clinton campaign attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Predictably, The Brookings Institute, which <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/12\/why-special-counsel-john-durham-is-investigating-the-brookings-institution\/\">served<\/a> as ground zero for the Russia collusion hoax, provided cover to Sussmann on its Lawfare blog. Chief collusion conspiracy theorist Benjamin Wittes penned a veritable defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfareblog.com\/special-counsels-weird-prosecution-michael-sussmann\">brief<\/a><em>. <\/em>Wittes, who acknowledged in his article that \u201cBaker is a personal friend and former colleague at Brookings and <em>Lawfare<\/em>,\u201d attacked both Durham and the indictment.<\/p>\n<p>Durham\u2019s 27-page speaking indictment is \u201cone of the very weakest federal criminal indictments I have ever seen in more than 25 years covering federal investigations and prosecutions,\u201d Wittes proclaimed, asserting \u201cthe evidence that Sussmann lied at all is weak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a preliminary matter, the indictment by its terms concedes that the entire case\u2014notwithstanding its many pages of narrative of the conduct of the Clinton campaign and its agents\u2014hinges on the testimony of a single witness: the former FBI general counsel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfareblog.com\/contributors\/jbaker\">Jim Baker<\/a>,\u201d Witte wrote. \u201cThis concession appears on page 18 of the indictment, which describes the Sept. 19, 2016, meeting between Sussmann and Baker at FBI Headquarters where the supposed lie happened. The indictment notably includes the fact that \u2018[n]o one else attended the meeting.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wittes then ticks off the prosecution\u2019s three pieces of evidence that Sussmann told Baker he was not acting on behalf of any client, calling it \u201cthin gruel,\u201d with the gruel getting \u201ca lot thinner when one looks at each of these pieces of evidence in any detail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>First, there will be Baker\u2019s testimony that Sussmann told Baker he was not acting on behalf of any client, Wittes notes. But Wittes claims Baker will be an unconvincing witness, because in his congressional testimony in October 2018, \u201cBaker repeatedly disclaims specific memory of whether Sussmann identified his clients.\u201d \u201cIt is hard for me to understand how a criminal case against Sussmann can proceed in the face of this testimony,\u201d Wittes wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Sussmann\u2019s friend then downplays the \u201ccontemporaneous notes of Bill Priestap,\u201d a higher up at the time in the FBI. Those notes, which Priestap penned after Baker relayed his conversation with Sussmann to his colleague, read \u201csaid not doing this for any client.\u201d The note seems to corroborate Baker\u2019s memory, Wittes acknowledges, before discounting it as hearsay. (Hearsay or not, the note will <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/06\/5-takeaways-from-the-newly-filed-motions-in-the-special-counsels-sussmann-case\/\">likely<\/a> be admissible.)<\/p>\n<p>Durham\u2019s third piece of evidence concerns Sussmann supposedly repeating the lie to the CIA in January, but that \u201cdoesn\u2019t cleanly corroborate the allegation that Sussmann lied to Baker,\u201d Wittes concludes.<\/p>\n<p>While Wittes\u2019 Lawfare piece presented the most comprehensive defense of Sussmann, his fellow Russia collusion hoaxers also pushed the \u201cit will be impossible to prove Sussmann lied to Baker\u201d theme. In an op-ed for MSNBC, \u201cRussia, Russia, Russia\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/msnbc-barbara-mcquade-russia-investigation-john-durham-probe\">queen<\/a> Barbara McQuade <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/durham-s-sussman-indictment-bizarre-coda-doj-s-russia-investigation-n1279490\">called<\/a> the case \u201cweak on the merits,\u201d claiming the special counsel could not prove Sussmann made the false statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSussmann maintains that he did not make the statement,\u201d McQuade wrote, before repeating Wittes\u2019 point that \u201cit appears that the whole case is built on the testimony of one witness, Baker.\u201d Like Wittes, McQuade stressed Baker will be a weak witness given his prior testimony. She also discounted Priestap\u2019s corroborating notes as hearsay.<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Post likewise <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/11\/one-key-argument-for-michael-sussmanns-defense-has-crumbled-already\/Even%20if%20the%20charge%20is%20legally%20sound,%20proving%20it%20will%20be%20a%20huge%20challenge.%20The%20alleged%20false%20statement%20was%20not%20written%20down%20or%20recorded.%20There%20were%20no%20witnesses%20other%20than%20the%20FBI%20attorney.%20Given%20the%20nature%20of%20human%20language%20and%20memory,%20it%E2%80%99s%20almost%20impossible%20to%20prove%20beyond%20a%20reasonable%20doubt%20precisely%20what%20was%20said%20during%20a%20portion%20of%20a%20single%20conversation%20five%20years%20ago.%20Bringing%20such%20a\">critiqued<\/a> the special counsel\u2019s case, arguing that \u201ceven if the charge is legally sound, proving it will be a huge challenge.\u201d \u201cThe alleged false statement was not written down or recorded. There were no witnesses other than the FBI attorney,\u201d the Post wrote. And \u201cgiven the nature of human language and memory, it\u2019s almost impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt precisely what was said during a portion of a single conversation five years ago,\u201d the article announced.<\/p>\n<p>The New York Times also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/16\/us\/politics\/michael-sussmann-indictment-durham-investigation.html\">worked<\/a> to counter the special counsel\u2019s criminal case by citing Sussmann\u2019s defense lawyers, Sean Berkowitz and Michael Bosworth. According to the Times\u2019 piece, Sussmann\u2019s legal team \u201chave <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/15\/us\/politics\/durham-michael-sussmann-trump-russia.html\">denied the accusation<\/a>, insisting that he did not say he had no client and maintaining that the evidence against him is weak.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Times\u2019 Russian-hoaxer team of Savage and Goldman continued: \u201cThe case against Mr. Sussmann turns on Mr. Baker\u2019s recollection that Mr. Sussmann told him he was not at the meeting on behalf of any client\u2014which Mr. Sussmann denies saying. There were no witnesses to their conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sussmann\u2019s lawyers went further in a statement released after the indictment, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/09\/16\/1038035231\/the-trump-russia-probe-special-counsel-has-charged-a-lawyer-with-lying-to-the-fb\">NPR<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/uk-usa-trump-sussmann-idUKKBN2GC270\">others<\/a> reporting the Latham and Watkins attorneys\u2019 claim that the special counsel \u201cis bringing a false statement charge based on an oral statement allegedly made five years ago to a single witness that is unrecorded and unobserved by anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For all the ink spilled over the \u201cyou can\u2019t prove Sussmann said he was not representing a client\u201d defense of the former Clinton campaign attorney, 42 words dissolve that narrative: \u201cJim\u2014it\u2019s Michael Sussmann. I have something time-sensitive (and sensitive) I need to discuss. Do you have availability for a short meeting tomorrow? I\u2019m coming on my own\u2014not on behalf of a client or company\u2014want to help the Bureau. Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the special counsel\u2019s office revealed Sussmann sent that text to Baker at 7:24 p.m. on the night before the meeting at which Sussmann handed the Alfa Bank material to the then-FBI general counsel. Just like that, the thin gruel seems more like cement.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it will be for a jury to decide whether Sussmann lied to Baker and is guilty of the offense charged, but Sussmann\u2019s text message dispatches one of the strongest defenses pushed by his cohorts in the court of public opinion, which raises an intriguing question: Why is this text only becoming known now?<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t as if Durham\u2019s team went <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/17\/special-counsel-john-durham-is-opening-up-about-his-spygate-investigation-but-why\/\">light<\/a> on the details, either in the indictment or follow-up legal filings. And from comments they made to the press, Sussmann\u2019s attorneys seemed unaware that prosecutors possessed the text message\u2014which would be bizarre if the special counsel\u2019s office knew of the text before dropping the indictment. After all, the special counsel would want to show Sussmann the strongest evidence it had of the alleged crime, to push him to <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.221058\/gov.uscourts.dcd.221058.1.0_4.pdf\">enter<\/a> a plea deal and cooperate with prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>Together these facts suggest that neither the special counsel\u2019s office nor Sussmann\u2019s legal team knew this damning text existed prior to the indictment. How, then, was the text discovered?<\/p>\n<p>One possible explanation is that the text was recovered from one of Baker\u2019s two cellphones the DOJ\u2019s Office of Inspector General had <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/31\/special-counsel-clarification-reveals-the-dojs-inspector-general-is-not-a-team-player\/\">secreted<\/a> from the special counsel\u2019s office until January 2022. But those phones were \u201cFBI cellphones,\u201d and according to Durham\u2019s filing, the text was sent to Baker\u2019s personal cell phone.<\/p>\n<p>So, maybe instead the special counsel\u2019s office somehow just recently obtained access to Baker\u2019s personal cell phone or texts sent to that phone. If so, why the delay? Was someone keeping this evidence on the sly? Or did Baker possibly forward the Sussmann text from his personal cell phone to one of his FBI cellphones, and thus the text was on the phones the OIG had long possessed? If so, that raises even more questions.<\/p>\n<p>The mysterious case of the appearing text will have to wait for another day. For now, though, we know that, contrary to the Russia-collusion hoaxers\u2019 claim, the special counsel has ample evidence that Sussmann told Baker he was not working on behalf of a client, striking down one of the two main defenses touted by Sussmann\u2019s backers. With a decision by the court on Sussmann\u2019s motion to dismiss imminent, the second attack of the indictment\u2014that the lie was not material\u2014will likely crumble soon too.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Margot Cleveland is The Federalist&#8217;s senior legal correspondent. 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>Former Hillary Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann\u2019s defenders have already been proven wrong on their claim that prosecutors will have a hard time proving Sussmann told the FBI that he<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1428160","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\/1428160","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\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1428160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428160\/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=1428160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1428160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1428160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}