{"id":1468336,"date":"2022-05-09T06:59:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T10:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1468336"},"modified":"2022-05-09T06:59:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T10:59:55","slug":"judge-limits-some-durham-evidence-ahead-of-ex-clinton-lawyer-sussmann-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-limits-some-durham-evidence-ahead-of-ex-clinton-lawyer-sussmann-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Limits Some Durham Evidence Ahead of Ex-Clinton Lawyer Sussmann Trial"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fjudge-limits-some-durham-evidence-ahead-of-ex-clinton-lawyer-sussmann-trial%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=1468336&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\">A<\/span> federal judge placed limits on special counsel John Durham\u2019s evidence in court meant to demonstrate a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-accidentally-releases-fusion-gps-emails-that-were-meant-to-be-under-seal\">\u201cjoint venture\u201d<\/a> involving Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-convinces-judge-to-review-concealed-documents-in-clinton-privilege-battle\">presidential campaign<\/a> to discredit rival Donald Trump with Russian collusion claims. <\/p>\n<p>A ruling Saturday evening included wins and losses for both the prosecution and defense in the case against Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/courts\/sussmann-wants-durham-filing-about-trump-white-house-snooping-stricken-from-record\">indicted<\/a><\/u> for allegedly <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-grand-jury-indicts-lawyer-allegedly-lying-fbi-concealing-ties-clinton-campaign\">concealing<\/a><\/u> his clients, Clinton&#8217;s campaign and \u201cTech Executive-1\u201d <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/tech-exec-1-says-he-will-plead-the-fifth-in-durham-case\">Rodney Joffe<\/a>,<\/u> from FBI general counsel James Baker in September 2016 when he presented internet data that suggested a now-discredited back channel between the Trump Organization and Russia\u2019s Alfa-Bank. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe government contends that the Alfa Bank data was gathered as part of a concerted effort to collect and disseminate derogatory opposition research about Donald Trump,\u201d U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote in the 24-page ruling, adding that participants in the \u201cpurported joint undertaking\u201d included Sussmann, the Clinton campaign, Clinton campaign general counsel and Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, Joffe, and several computer researchers working at Joffe\u2019s direction. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Court will exercise its discretion not to engage in the kind of extensive evidentiary analysis that would be required to find that such a joint venture existed, and who may have joined it, in order to admit these emails,\u201d the judge ruled, \u201cFor starters, Mr. Sussmann is not charged with a conspiracy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoreover, while the Special Counsel has proffered some evidence of a collective effort to disseminate the purported link between Trump and Alfa Bank to the press and others, the contours of this venture and its participants are not entirely obvious,\u201d the judge claimed. \u201cThe Court is particularly skeptical that the researchers \u2014 who were not employed by Mr. Joffe, Fusion GPS, or the Clinton Campaign, and most of whom never communicated with Mr. Sussmann \u2014 shared in this common goal.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Cooper also said that \u201cwhere exactly Mr. Sussmann fits into the enterprise is similarly murky at this stage.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/judge-wont-let-clinton-collusion-tweet-be-admitted-in-sussmann-trial\">JUDGE WON&#8217;T LET CLINTON COLLUSION TWEET BE ADMITTED IN SUSSMANN TRIAL<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>There is a tangled web of ties between this cast of characters that Trump and his allies often vilify as having been instrumental to a &#8220;Russia collusion hoax&#8221; meant to undermine his campaign and, later, Trump&#8217;s presidency. British ex-spy Christopher Steele created his <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/democratic-lawyer-sussmann-doesnt-want-steele-dossier-brought-up-during-durham-trial\">discredited anti-Trump dossier<\/a><\/u> after being hired by Fusion, which was itself hired by Perkins and Elias. Sussmann and Elias worked for Perkins at the time, and Fusion pushed Alfa-Bank claims, too. <\/p>\n<p>Durham has said <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-accidentally-releases-fusion-gps-emails-that-were-meant-to-be-under-seal\">evidence<\/a><\/u> at trial, set to begin this month, would show that beginning in late July 2016, Sussmann, Joffe, and \u201cagents of the Clinton campaign\u201d were \u201cassembling and disseminating the [Alfa Bank] allegations and other derogatory information about Trump and his associates to the media and the U.S. government.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel said his team will show that this amounted to a joint venture, and to some degree, the judge is open to seeing where the argument goes. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government may attempt to connect the dots between the various participants in the collection and use of the Alfa Bank data \u2026 But as it stands now, the government must steer clear of evidence regarding the accuracy of the data, which the defense does not plan to place at issue, and whether Mr. Joffe\u2019s role in the collection effort was somehow \u2018objectionable\u2019 or illegal,\u201d Cooper ruled. \u201cNor will the Court conduct a time-consuming and largely unnecessary mini-trial to determine the existence and scope of an uncharged conspiracy to develop and disseminate the Alfa Bank data.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The FBI, the CIA, special counsel Robert Mueller, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation, and Durham\u2019s team have all <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">cast doubt on<\/a><\/u> or shot down the Trump-Alfa Bank link. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government has proffered the existence of at least some circumstantial evidence connecting Mr. Sussmann to certain aspects of the data gathering effort,\u201d Cooper wrote, adding that \u201cthe government contends that Mr. Sussmann\u2019s desire to conceal this joint venture \u2014 particularly the Clinton Campaign\u2019s involvement \u2014 supplied a motive for him to misrepresent to Mr. Baker that he was not providing the data to the FBI on behalf of any client.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe defense paints a different picture,\u201d Cooper wrote, adding, \u201cIts case will be that Mr. Joffe obtained and analyzed the relevant data independently of Mr. Sussmann and the Clinton Campaign.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Cooper said, \u201cThe jury is entitled to hear both these narratives. The parties may therefore bring out otherwise admissible trial evidence supporting their competing theories regarding the gathering and use of the data. Permissible areas of inquiry include how the data came into being and who was involved in its collection and analysis, as well as how Mr. Sussmann came to possess the data, what he did with it, and why.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Court will impose certain limitations on the use of this evidence, however,\u201d Cooper wrote, adding, \u201cUnless the defense opens the door for admission by vouching for the data, the government will not be permitted to put on extensive evidence about its accuracy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The judge also discussed emails Durham wanted to admit between Joffe, Georgia Tech researchers Manos Antonakakis and David Dagon (\u201cResearcher-1\u201d and \u201cResearcher-2\u201d), and \u201cOriginator-1\u201d April Lorenzen, wherein \u201cthe researchers and Mr. Joffe discuss the data collection effort and their conclusions about the data.\u201d He ruled that \u201cas of now,\u201d the emails are \u201cnot relevant\u201d to Sussmann\u2019s state of mind, though he \u201cmay revisit this determination if the government shows that Mr. Sussmann at some point received these emails or became aware of their contents.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In addition, Durham <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-accidentally-releases-fusion-gps-emails-that-were-meant-to-be-under-seal\">obtained<\/a><\/u> hundreds of emails from Fusion showing it was pushing unverified Trump-Russia collusion allegations to the media throughout 2016. Cooper ruled those emails are &#8220;admissible\u201d because Durham is offering them \u201cto demonstrate that Fusion GPS and the researchers shared the ultimate goal of disseminating the Alfa Bank allegations to the press.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But the judge limited which Joffe emails could be shown in court, ruling as inadmissible an email that Joffe sent to a colleague in November 2016 after Trump won, in which the tech executive said, &#8220;I was tentatively offered the top [cybersecurity] job by the Democrats when it looked like they&#8217;d win.\u201d Cooper said that \u201cit makes no reference to the Alfa Bank allegations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Allowing notes taken by Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI\u2019s counterintelligence division, and FBI Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson as evidence \u201cdepends both on whether Mr. Baker\u2019s credibility is attacked and on Mr. Priestap and Ms. Anderson\u2019s testimony,&#8221; the judge said. <\/p>\n<p>Durham said Baker met with Priestap and Anderson after his meeting with Sussmann. Priestap wrote in his notes that Baker said Sussmann \u201csaid not doing this for any client.\u201d Anderson\u2019s notes said in part, \u201cNo specific client.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>To bolster the case against Sussmann, the special counsel <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-sussmann-put-his-lie-to-the-fbi-in-writing\">revealed<\/a> the lawyer sent a text message to Baker the night before their meeting at the bureau, writing, \u201cI\u2019m coming on my own \u2013 not on behalf of a client or company \u2013 want to help the Bureau.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Mr. Baker\u2019s memory is challenged on cross examination [this strikes the Court as no sure thing given the recent revelation of a text message apparently sent by Mr. Sussmann to Mr. Baker the day before their meeting indicating that he was not attending the meeting on behalf of a client], his prior consistent statement would be admissible to bolster his testimony,\u201d Cooper said Saturday. <\/p>\n<p>Durham says Sussmann <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-focuses-on-russian-yotaphones-clinton-campaign-lawyer-linked-to-trump\">similarly concealed<\/a> Joffe as his client when he met with the CIA in February 2017 and linked Trump to Russian-made YotaPhone phones near the White House and elsewhere. The special counsel has rejected these allegations and said the CIA did too. <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel released notes showing the CIA said Sussmann told the agency he had met with Baker \u201con a similar, though unrelated, matter.&#8221; Durham said that was \u201cmisleading\u201d because information regarding the Alfa-Bank allegations that he had pushed to the FBI was among the materials Sussmann provided to the CIA and thus was not unrelated. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth statements are admissible, assuming the government lays a proper foundation,&#8221; Cooper ruled on Saturday, adding, \u201cHowever, the Court will not permit this line of inquiry to lead to additional technical testimony about the YotaPhone allegations or their accuracy.\u201d <\/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>Sussmann\u2019s lawyers have <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-team-raises-possibility-tech-exec-1-in-sussmann-case-committed-fraud\">argued<\/a> that Durham should be forced to grant Joffe immunity. Durham prosecutor Andrew DeFilippis said late last month the special counsel&#8217;s team is still &#8220;looking closely&#8221; at Joffe, citing \u201congoing investigative matters\u201d and noting \u201csome criminal statutes are longer than five years.\u201d With Cooper asking for an example, the Durham prosecutor <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/18\/1031\">pointed to<\/a><\/u> a law on major fraud against the U.S. government, specifically mentioning a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Special Counsel\u2019s continued representation that Mr. Joffe is a subject of its investigation, rather than simply a witness, does not amount to prosecutorial misconduct on this record,&#8221; Cooper ruled Saturday. &#8220;The Court therefore has no basis to order the Special Counsel to extend use immunity to Mr. Joffe.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Durham said Joffe tasked employees and associates with mining and assembling internet data that would support a \u201cnarrative\u201d tying Trump to Russia. The tech executive&#8217;s motive was demonstrated in emails that said the goal was to please \u201cVIPs\u201d \u2014 referring to Sussmann, Elias, and the Clinton campaign. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge placed limits on special counsel John Durham\u2019s evidence in court meant to demonstrate a \u201cjoint venture\u201d involving Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign to discredit rival<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"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-1468336","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\/1468336","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\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1468336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468336\/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=1468336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1468336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1468336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}