{"id":1476639,"date":"2022-05-16T11:59:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T15:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1476639"},"modified":"2022-05-16T12:01:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T16:01:16","slug":"durham-takes-ex-clinton-lawyer-to-court-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/durham-takes-ex-clinton-lawyer-to-court-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham Takes Ex-Clinton Lawyer to Court: What To Know"},"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\">18<\/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-takes-ex-clinton-lawyer-to-court-what-to-know%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=1476639&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 class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">T<\/span>he <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/fusion-gps-must-hand-over-docs-to-durham-but-he-cant-use-them-at-trial\">trial<\/a> of former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, charged with lying to the FBI about not having a client when he passed along <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/judge-restricts-durham-evidence-on-clinton-campaign-joint-venture-in-sussmann-trial\">since-debunked claims<\/a> of collusion between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia in 2016, is set to begin Monday. <\/p>\n<p>The clash in federal court in Washington, D.C., represents the biggest and most public test yet for John Durham and his special counsel investigation. <\/p>\n<p>Attorney General William Barr quietly <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/barr-appoints-john-durham-as-special-counsel-to-investigate-further-criminality-in-russia-inquiry\">appointed<\/a><\/u> Durham as special counsel in October 2020 after assigning the then-U.S. attorney to investigate the origins and conduct of the Trump-Russia inquiry in May 2019. The yearslong effort, dismissed by Democrats as being <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/you-have-no-evidence-journalist-knocks-adam-schiff-for-calling-durham-investigation-tainted\">&#8220;tainted&#8221;<\/a> by politics and heralded by former President Trump and his allies as pulling the curtain back on the Russia <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/trump-victory-lap-illegal-witch-hunts\">&#8220;witch hunt,&#8221;<\/a> appears to be affirming that many of the biggest <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/ratcliffe-expects-many-more-durham-indictments-focused-on-clinton-russia-collusion-dossier\">collusion claims<\/a> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/ratcliffe-expects-many-more-durham-indictments-focused-on-clinton-russia-collusion-dossier\">can be traced back<\/a> to the Clinton 2016 campaign and Democratic operatives. <\/p>\n<p>Beyond Sussmann, Durham has another active case against Christopher Steele\u2019s alleged main source, Igor Danchenko, <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/steeles-main-dossier-source-arrested-in-durham-investigation-report\">charged<\/a><\/u> with five counts of making false statements to the FBI about the information he provided to the former MI6 agent for his discredited dossier. The special counsel has obtained one guilty plea from former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/date-set-for-former-fbi-lawyer-kevin-clinesmith-plea-agreement-hearing\">admitted<\/a><\/u> he <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-investigation-kevin-clinesmith-probation\">falsified<\/a><\/u> a document during the bureau\u2019s efforts to renew FISA surveillance authority against Trump campaign associate Carter Page. <\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<figure class=\"Figure mb-1 mb-sm-3 mb-md-1 article-lead-photo data_invisible\" data-align=\"center\" data-image-size=\"fixed\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n<div class=\"Figure-container\"><source media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_md\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_md\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_xl\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_xl\" \/><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600\" \/><source data-image-size=\"1060x600\" \/><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n                Special counsel John Durham.<br \/>\n               <\/figcaption><div class=\"Figure-credit\" itemprop=\"author\">\n                (Bob Child\/AP Photo)\n               <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>The Defendant<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>The <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/courts\/sussmann-wants-durham-filing-about-trump-white-house-snooping-stricken-from-record\">indictment<\/a><\/u> came last September. Sussmann, 57 at the time, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/sco\/pr\/grand-jury-indicts-dc-attorney-making-false-statements-fbi-2016-regarding-alleged\">was charged<\/a> with <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 \u2014 Clinton&#8217;s 2016 campaign and \u201cTech Executive-1,\u201d known to be former Neustar executive Rodney Joffe \u2014 from FBI general counsel James Baker when he presented internet data that suggested a secret back channel between the Trump Organization and Russia\u2019s Alfa-Bank during a September 2016 meeting. <\/p>\n<p>Durham said Sussmann billed the FBI meeting to the Clinton campaign with the description of \u201cwork and communications regarding confidential project.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann, who also <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/strzok-pushed-falsehood-on-trump-russia-inquiry-origin-in-2017-notes-indicate\">helped<\/a> the DNC handle its response to the 2016 hack, denies wrongdoing, pleaded not guilty, and unsuccessfully called upon the judge to dismiss the case, even <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/clinton-campaign-lawyer-bets-on-fired-fbi-agent-peter-strzok-to-fight-durham-case\">relying<\/a><\/u> in part on <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/strzok-attacks-durham-indictment-against-sussmann-and-chilling-effect-on-fisas\">legal analysis<\/a><\/u> by <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/you-deserve-to-be-divorced-not-fired-peter-strzok-quotes-wife-in-arguing-against-fbi-firing-for-anti-trump-texts\">fired FBI agent Peter Strzok<\/a><\/u>. <\/p>\n<p><b>The Judge<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Christopher Cooper, the U.S. district court judge <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/sussman-judge-previously-professional-acquaintances-lawyer-indicted-durham\">presiding<\/a> over the Sussmann case, has said he was \u201cprofessional acquaintances\u201d at the Justice Department with Sussmann in the 1990s. The judge\u2019s wife has represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page since at least 2018. <\/p>\n<p>Despite these ties, Durham did not push for the judge\u2019s recusal. <\/p>\n<p>Cooper was <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcd.uscourts.gov\/content\/district-judge-christopher-r-cooper\">appointed<\/a><\/u> by President Barack Obama following unanimous Senate confirmation. He and his wife were <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1999\/05\/02\/style\/weddings-amy-jeffress-casey-cooper.html\">married<\/a><\/u> in 1999, and Merrick Garland, now attorney general, officiated their wedding. <\/p>\n<p><b>The FBI General Counsel<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>James Baker, who left the FBI in 2018 and was <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/ex-top-fbi-lawyer-who-took-steele-dossier-seriously-joins-twitter\">hired as deputy general counsel<\/a> at Twitter, will be <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-team-apparently-previously-questioned-credibility-of-witness-in-sussmann-case\">called<\/a> by Durham as a key witness. <\/p>\n<p>Baker <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/ex-top-fbi-lawyer-who-took-steele-dossier-seriously-joins-twitter\">defended <\/a><\/u>the Trump-Russia investigation and was involved in the sign-off process of at least the first flawed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant against Page, who has denied any wrongdoing and was never charged with a crime. <\/p>\n<p><b>Battle Over Significance<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Durham argues Sussmann\u2019s <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-argues-sussmann-lie-fbi-mattered-as-he-pushed-collusion-claims\">alleged lie<\/a> to Baker was \u201cmaterial\u201d and that it mattered. Sussmann argues he didn\u2019t lie and, even if he did, it was immaterial. <\/p>\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 Durham said in a March filing. \u201cThe 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.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann\u2019s lawyers said their client met with the FBI \u201cto pass along information that raised national security concerns\u201d simply \u201cto provide a tip.\u201d They argued Sussmann \u201cdid not make any false statement to the FBI \u2026 but in any event, the false statement alleged in the indictment is immaterial.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b>Battle Over Notes<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Baker <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-sussmann-put-his-lie-to-the-fbi-in-writing\">met with<\/a><\/u> Bill Priestap, who was assistant director of the FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence Division, and FBI Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson after his Sussmann meeting in 2016. Priestap wrote that Baker said Sussmann \u201csaid not doing this for any client.\u201d Anderson wrote in part, \u201cNo specific client.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann also put his <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-sussmann-notes-battle-pulls-back-curtain-on-trump-era-fbi\">lie down in writing<\/a> in a text message to Baker the night before their meeting in September 2016, according to Durham. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have something time-sensitive (and sensitive) I need to discuss,\u201d Sussmann wrote, adding, &#8220;I\u2019m coming on my own \u2014 not on behalf of a client or company \u2014 want to help the Bureau.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Handwritten notes during a March 2017 meeting by Associate Deputy Attorney General Tashina Gauhar put \u201cattorney\u201d in quotation marks and said this person \u201cbrought to FBI on behalf of his client.&#8221; Notes by acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord said, \u201cAttorney brought to Jim Baker and d\/n [did not] say who client was.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b>Alfa-Bank Claims Debunked<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Special counsel Robert Mueller, the FBI, the CIA, and a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-limited-in-presenting-evidence-that-collusion-claims-were-untrue-judge-says\">cast doubt<\/a> on or rejected the Alfa-Bank claims touted by the Clinton campaign in the closing days of the 2016 election. <\/p>\n<p>Mueller said in July 2019 that &#8220;my belief at this point is that it\u2019s not true.\u201d Mueller\u2019s report said his team \u201cdid not establish\u201d any criminal collusion between Trump and Russia. <\/p>\n<p>DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a December 2019 report that the FBI &#8220;concluded by early February 2017 that there were no such links.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intelligence.senate.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/report_volume5.pdf\">report<\/a><\/u> from 2020 did not find &#8220;covert communications between Alfa Bank and Trump Organization personnel.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The judge slapped limits on Durham\u2019s ability to cite the <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-focuses-on-russian-yotaphones-clinton-campaign-lawyer-linked-to-trump\">inaccuracy<\/a><\/u> of Trump-Russia <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">collusion claims<\/a><\/u> in his prosecution. <\/p>\n<p><b>The Russian Phone Claims<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Durham said Sussmann told the CIA about the purported Russian bank connection in a February 2017 meeting in which Sussmann again was allegedly misleading about his clients. The special counsel said Sussmann also <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/courts\/sussmann-wants-durham-filing-about-trump-white-house-snooping-stricken-from-record\">claimed<\/a><\/u> that data to which he had access \u201cdemonstrated that Trump and\/or his associates were using supposedly rare, Russian-made wireless phones,\u201d called YotaPhones, \u201cin the vicinity of the White House and other locations.\u201d Durham found &#8220;no support for these allegations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel said he has evidence Sussmann\u2019s other client, Joffe, \u201cexploited\u201d domain name system internet traffic at Trump Tower, Trump\u2019s Central Park West apartment building, and the Executive Office of the President. <\/p>\n<p>Durham <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">revealed<\/a> the CIA \u201cconcluded in early 2017\u201d the Alfa-Bank and YotaPhone information was not \u201ctechnically plausible&#8221; and did not \u201cwithstand technical scrutiny.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><b>&#8220;Tech Executive-1&#8221;<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel said Joffe \u201cexploited his access to non-public and\/or proprietary Internet data&#8221; and tasked researchers to mine internet data to establish \u201can inference\u201d and \u201cnarrative\u201d tying Trump to Russia. Durham said Joffe indicated he was doing this to please certain \u201cVIPs\u201d on the Clinton campaign. <\/p>\n<p>Joffe \u201cenlisted the assistance of researchers\u201d at Georgia Tech \u201cwho were receiving and analyzing large amounts of Internet data in connection with a pending federal government cybersecurity research contract&#8221; from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to Durham. <\/p>\n<p>The judge rejected the Sussmann legal team&#8217;s <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-team-raises-possibility-tech-exec-1-in-sussmann-case-committed-fraud\">argument<\/a> that Durham should be forced to grant Joffe immunity. A Durham prosecutor said the special counsel&#8217;s team is still &#8220;looking closely&#8221; at Joffe, including pointing to a law on major fraud against the U.S. government, specifically mentioning the DARPA contract. <\/p>\n<p><b>Hillary Clinton Tweet<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Clinton herself <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillaryClinton\/status\/793250312119263233?s=20\">tweeted<\/a><\/u> in the closing days of the 2016 campaign allegations that the Russian bank collaborated with Trump. She also shared a statement from <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/jake-sullivan-promoted-alfa-bank-story-center-durham-indictment\">Jake Sullivan<\/a><\/u>, then her foreign policy adviser and now President Joe Biden&#8217;s national security adviser, on the &#8220;New Report Exposing Trump\u2019s Secret Line of Communication to Russia.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>On Halloween 2016, Clinton <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillaryClinton\/status\/793250312119263233?s=20\">tweeted<\/a><\/u>, \u201cComputer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,\u201d Sullivan <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillaryClinton\/status\/793250312119263233?s=20\">claimed<\/a><\/u>, adding, \u201cWe can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia.\u201d Sullivan <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/jake-sullivan-promoted-alfa-bank-story-center-durham-indictment\">continued pushing<\/a> the Alfa-Bank claims on TV in 2017. <\/p>\n<p>The judge <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/judge-wont-let-clinton-collusion-tweet-be-admitted-in-sussmann-trial\">won\u2019t let<\/a> the Clinton tweet be admitted as evidence. <\/p>\n<p><b>Marc Elias and Clinton Campaign<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Elias, who last year started his own law firm, the Elias Law Group, was the Clinton campaign&#8217;s general counsel and hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which hired Steele in 2016. Elias testified he was aware of Fusion&#8217;s plans to have Steele brief reporters during the 2016 contest, <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/clinton-campaign-knew-about-fusion-gps-plan-to-have-christopher-steele-brief-reporters-about-dossier\">met with<\/a><\/u> Steele in 2016, and periodically briefed the campaign about the findings from Fusion and Steele. Elias coordinated closely with his Perkins Coie colleague Sussmann on anti-Trump research in 2016. <\/p>\n<p><b>The Joint Venture<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Durham 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 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 The special counsel said this \u201cjoint venture\u201d aimed to hurt Trump politically. <\/p>\n<p>The judge <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/judge-restricts-durham-evidence-on-clinton-campaign-joint-venture-in-sussmann-trial\">placed limits<\/a> on Durham\u2019s joint venture evidence, saying, \u201cThe government may attempt to connect the dots between the various participants in the collection and use of the Alfa Bank data \u2026 The government must steer clear of evidence regarding the accuracy of the data.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Durham said members of the Clinton campaign, Fusion, and Perkins played a coordinated role in <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-focuses-on-russian-yotaphones-clinton-campaign-lawyer-linked-to-trump\">pushing<\/a> <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/sussmann-doesnt-want-clinton-tweet-touting-collusion-claims-to-be-admissible\">collusion claims<\/a><\/u>. <\/p>\n<p><b>Fusion GPS<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Fusion and its Clinton campaign defenders claim the firm was hired to provide legal advice, but Durham said the evidence clearly shows they were conducting opposition research. <\/p>\n<p>Durham <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-accidentally-releases-fusion-gps-emails-that-were-meant-to-be-under-seal\">pointed out<\/a> that Fusion\u2019s collusion claims were pushed to the media, State Department, Justice Department, and Congress, which &#8220;resulted in numerous media articles\u201d before and after the 2016 election. Fusion also drafted one of the \u201cwhite papers\u201d Sussmann gave Baker. <\/p>\n<p>Fusion co-founders Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/christopher-steele-mistook-manafort-tailor-for-money-laundering-ice-cream-shop\">wrote<\/a><\/u> in a 2019 book that they met with Elias in April 2016 and the lawyer was excited about their Russia angle. <\/p>\n<p>The Clinton campaign and DNC were <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-raises-fec-ruling-against-clinton-and-dnc-in-attorney-client-privilege-battle\">recently fined<\/a><\/u> by the Federal Election Commission over their financial filings related to Fusion. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the judge quoted an email Fritsch sent to a reporter in October 2016 in which he said to &#8220;do the f****** Alfa bank secret comms story.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>It was <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/news_and_politics\/cover_story\/2016\/10\/was_a_server_registered_to_the_trump_organization_communicating_with_russia.html\">reported<\/a><\/u> by <i>Slate<\/i> in October 2016 that researchers found \u201ca sustained relationship between a server registered to the Trump Organization and two servers registered to an entity called Alfa Bank.\u201d The <i>New York Times<\/i> <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/01\/us\/politics\/fbi-russia-election-donald-trump.html\">reported<\/a><\/u>, \u201cThe FBI ultimately concluded that there could be an innocuous explanation, like a marketing email or spam, for the computer contacts.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Those reporters had been in contact with Fusion. <\/p>\n<p>The judge <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/fusion-gps-must-hand-over-docs-to-durham-but-he-cant-use-them-at-trial\">found<\/a> Fusion \u201chad no valid basis&#8221; to withhold 22 emails it had concealed from Durham on the basis of attorney-client privilege claims by the Clinton campaign. He directed Fusion to provide Durham with the documents, but the special counsel will not be allowed to use the emails at trial. The emails were among 1,500 documents Fusion withheld from Durham. <\/p>\n<p><b>Christopher Steele<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Steele testified in a British court that Sussmann provided him with claims about Alfa-Bank\u2019s purported ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July 2016 meeting. These allegations made their way into a September 2016 memo that became part of the dossier. <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel says the <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/christopher-steele-holds-firm-on-defending-discredited-dossier\">dossier author<\/a><\/u> is at the \u201cintersection\u201d of Trump-Russia <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/bidens-disinformation-chief-is-trump-dossier-author-fan-and-hunter-laptop-doubter\">collusion efforts<\/a><\/u>, while the Democratic lawyer calls evidence about him an unfair \u201clightning rod.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b>Proposed Jury Questions<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>The selection of a D.C. jury begins Monday, with dozens of potential jurors arriving at the federal courthouse. The jury questionnaire asked them dozens of questions, including links they might have to the prosecution, defense, judge, or potential witnesses, whether they voted in 2016, and if they worked or volunteered for or contributed to any 2016 presidential campaign. <\/p>\n<p>Each potential juror was also asked whether they or anyone close to them had any connection to any group \u201cthat has investigated or made inquiry into (1) Russian interference with the 2016 election, (2) the federal government\u2019s investigation of Donald Trump\u2019s relationship with Russia, or (3) the federal government\u2019s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The trial of former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, charged with lying to the FBI about not having a client when he<\/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-1476639","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\/1476639","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=1476639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476639\/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=1476639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1476639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1476639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}