{"id":1464523,"date":"2022-05-05T07:44:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T11:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1464523"},"modified":"2022-05-05T07:44:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T11:44:59","slug":"durham-convinces-judge-to-review-concealed-docs-in-clinton-attorney-client-privilege-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/durham-convinces-judge-to-review-concealed-docs-in-clinton-attorney-client-privilege-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham Convinces Judge to Review Concealed Docs in Clinton Attorney-Client Privilege Battle"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fdurham-convinces-judge-to-review-concealed-docs-in-clinton-attorney-client-privilege-battle%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=1464523&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><\/div>\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">T<\/span>he judge in the case of Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann has agreed to review dozens of records currently withheld because of assertions of <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-raises-fec-ruling-against-clinton-and-dnc-in-attorney-client-privilege-battle\">attorney-client privilege<\/a> by Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign to see if they have been <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-accidentally-releases-fusion-gps-emails-that-were-meant-to-be-under-seal\">improperly concealed.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The agreement is a win for special counsel John Durham in his case against Sussmann, who has been indicted on charges of <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-grand-jury-indicts-lawyer-allegedly-lying-fbi-concealing-ties-clinton-campaign\">concealing<\/a> his clients, the Clinton <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/clinton-writes-off-conspiracy-theories-as-durham-digs-around-her-2016-campaign\">campaign<\/a> and <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/tech-exec-1-says-he-will-plead-the-fifth-in-durham-case\">tech executive<\/a> Rodney Joffe, from FBI general counsel James Baker when he pushed eventually <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">debunked claims<\/a> of a secret backchannel between the Trump Organization and Russia\u2019s Alfa Bank. <\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Judge Christopher Cooper said Wednesday he would grant the government\u2019s motion, arguing he did not believe it was breaking attorney-client privilege for him to review the records in dispute in an \u201cin camera\u201d setting, away from the public and the press. <\/p>\n<p>British ex-spy Christopher Steele created a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/democratic-lawyer-sussmann-doesnt-want-steele-dossier-brought-up-during-durham-trial\">dossier<\/a> on then-candidate Donald Trump after being hired by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which was itself hired by the Perkins Coie law firm and Marc Elias, the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/steele-dossier-funder-marc-elias-testified-before-john-durhams-grand-jury\">general counsel<\/a> for Clinton\u2019s campaign. <\/p>\n<p>The judge repeatedly pointed to the difference between hiring a firm to do \u201cfact-checking\u201d versus hiring it to do \u201copposition research.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hillary for America, the DNC, and Perkins argue claims of attorney-client privilege should keep the records concealed and claim Fusion simply provided them legal services. <\/p>\n<p>Durham is insisting those groups played a coordinated role in pushing <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-focuses-on-russian-yotaphones-clinton-campaign-lawyer-linked-to-trump\">false<\/a> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/sussmann-doesnt-want-clinton-tweet-touting-collusion-claims-to-be-admissible\">collusion claims<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The judge said he didn&#8217;t doubt Elias\u2019s claims about Fusion being hired to provide legal advice but said that didn\u2019t mean everything Fusion did in 2016 is covered by privilege. The judge said he would review the Joffe records too. <\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen how the judge will rule on the privilege claims after taking a look at the Alfa Bank-related documents. Thirty are internal Fusion emails, and eight relate to Joffe and Fusion. <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/dossier-author-christopher-steele-looms-large-over-durham-trial\">CHRISTOPHER STEELE LOOMS LARGE OVER DURHAM TRIAL<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s 2016 campaign and Fusion united in court on Wednesday. <\/p>\n<p>Fusion\u2019s lawyer said the firm asserted privilege over 1,500 documents, adding it also \u201cproduced hundreds of documents.\u201d Fusion said the Clinton campaign, DNC, and Perkins had made \u201cjudgment calls\u201d on what was privileged. <\/p>\n<p>The judge asked Durham prosecutor Jonathan Algor whether Durham would come back for the other 1,500 documents if the judge ended up agreeing with the prosecution about these 38 records. Algor said \u201cnot for this trial\u201d but left the door open for the future, saying that \u201cYour Honor\u2019s decision is important\u201d for the investigation. <\/p>\n<p>Algor told the judge the Clinton campaign and Fusion wrongly &#8220;advanced a very broad and novel theory\u201d of attorney-client privilege that \u201copposition research\u201d is \u201csomehow protected.\u201d He pointed to Fusion emails that have been released and said \u201cnothing shows\u201d any of that related to \u201clegal advice.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Algor stressed the opposition research was pushed to the FBI, Congress, and the media. <\/p>\n<p>Durham plans to call Fusion\u2019s \u201ctech maven,\u201d Laura Seago, to testify, including Fusion\u2019s role with a white paper Sussmann pushed to the FBI. <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann lawyer Sean Berkowitz lamented \u201cthe government charged a case with attorneys and privilege all over the place\u201d and called it \u201calmost a law school hypothetical.\u201d He said the judge\u2019s ruling could have a \u201cripple effect\u201d and could end up calling \u201cthousands of documents into question\u201d related to prior privilege assertions. He also said letting Seago speak at the trial would be \u201cunduly prejudicial.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Algor countered that the prosecution had \u201ccabined\u201d the trial to a single Fusion witness and a few dozen documents. He said Seago had \u201ckey evidence\u201d about the attorney-client relationships and that she would be a Fusion witness tied to Sussmann, the Clinton campaign, and Joffe. <\/p>\n<p>Clinton campaign lawyer Robert Trout argued, \u201cThe government here has an erroneously cramped view of privilege\u201d and called it a \u201cfalse choice\u201d to say something is either opposition research or covered by privilege. He said, \u201cIt is true that Donald Trump was an opposition candidate\u201d but claimed Fusion had been hired to help with legal advice for the campaign. He said: \u201cIt may have been research about an opposition candidate, but the real purpose was to get our facts straight.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Clinton campaign\u2019s filing last week included a declaration from Elias, who claimed, \u201cFusion\u2019s role was to provide consulting services\u201d that Perkins was giving related to defamation and libel laws. <\/p>\n<p>Fusion co-founders Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/christopher-steele-mistook-manafort-tailor-for-money-laundering-ice-cream-shop\">wrote<\/a> in their 2019 book that they met with Elias in April 2016. <\/p>\n<p>Fritsch told Elias, \u201cWe think you guys will really want to pay attention to the Russia angle.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis angle was all new to Elias, and he loved it,\u201d Fusion said. <\/p>\n<p>The judge quoted from an email by Fritsch to a reporter in October 2016 in which the Fusion co-founder said to \u201cdo the f***ing Alfa bank secret comms story.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The judge said: \u201cHow is that assisting Mr. Elias providing legal advice? \u2026 That is assisting a media strategy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The judge said he was \u201cnot convinced\u201d that the Clinton campaign should just have a blanket assertion of privilege. <\/p>\n<p>Trout contended the prosecution\u2019s arguments suggested \u201cMr. Elias\u2019s sworn statements are not to be believed, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s appropriate.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The judge again made a \u201cdistinction between\u201d fact-checking and disseminating opposition research. <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Fusion\u2019s lawyer also argued the firm had no knowledge of Sussmann\u2019s meeting with the FBI and tried to argue it was irrelevant to the indictment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The judge in the case of Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann has agreed to review dozens of records currently withheld because of assertions of attorney-client privilege by Hillary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"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-1464523","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\/1464523","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\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1464523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1464523\/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=1464523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1464523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1464523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}