Notes

After Resolving 2022 Election Drama, Durham Prosecutors Stop Case Against Clinton Campaign Lawyer Michael Sussmann

Judge Christopher Cooper, DC District Court He insisted from the beginning that the case would not be dominated by its inevitable "political overtones." His hopes were quickly shattered.



Jurors heard testimony from Russia's cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee, Trump’s famous "Russia, if You're Listening" plea for more hacks and James Comey, then-FBI Director,'s explosive public announcements regarding the Clinton email investigation.



One witness was asked Tuesday about other well-known figures in the Trump-Russia probe which included George Papadopoulos and Carter Page who worked for Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.



The witness, a technology executive Jared Novick, said he was "extremely uncomfortable" when his business partner Rodney Joffe "tasked" him with using their vast collection of internet data to find connections between these and other Trump associates and Russia. (Joffe worked in conjunction with Sussmann to assist him in obtaining the information to the FBI and the media.



But Cooper chided Durham's team twice on Wednesday for not following the "guardrails" he established before the trial and going too far in his questions to witnesses. The judge was displeased that prosecutors questioned a witness about Sussmann's underlying claim that it could be fake and also mentioned Joffe's political affiliations with "no good-faith basis."



Clash over billing records



Jurors were shown Sussmann's bill documents. The records revealed how he charged Clinton for meetings, phone calls, and other work that was related to the Trump-Russia allegations.



His billing record from September 19, 2016 -the day he had a meeting with Baker at the FBI headquarters -- was also introduced as evidence. The prosecution claimed that Sussmann "billed his time at the FBI...to the Clinton Campaign." The jury's hearings on Wednesday proved that Sussmann did indeed charge Clinton for that day however, only for work and communications related to a confidential project.



"There is no reference in that document to the FBI is there?" Michael Bosworth, defense attorney requested Kori Arsenault (paralegal in Durham) for clarification. "There is not," she said.



Bosworth highlighted expenses records that revealed that Sussmann did not bill the Clinton campaign for the taxis he drove to and from the FBI Building, but instead billed Perkins Coie, his law firm at the moment. Bosworth also noted that Sussmann would often mention "meeting with FBI" when he attended meetings with FBI officials for other clients.



Prosecutors proved that Sussmann promoted his campaign with a USB thumb drive that he bought days prior to meeting Baker. He also gave two thumb drives with cyber-related information regarding Trump.



The Trump-Alfa investigation is led by a rookie FBI agent



As prosecutors closed their case, they focused in on the FBI investigation that was launched after Sussmann's tip the Trump Organization was secretly contacting Alfa Bank, the largest private bank in Moscow. Two Chicago-based FBI agents described how they tried to reconstruct the cyber data and concluded after four months that there was not any evidence of it.
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"There was no evidence, from all of the US companies we spoken with, of the (internet logs) we looked through as well as the (internal report ) from the Alfa-Bank Servers -- there was not evidence that this shady communications channel existed," stated former FBI agent Allison Sands who led the inquiry, despite only three months of experience as an FBI agent.



The Durham witnesses are the last to decide the "materiality" question, which is crucial for a conviction.



The prosecutors would need to convince the jury of a few key aspects of the alleged crime, such as that Sussmann lied and that the alleged lie had a real impact on the FBI's work. The defense claims Sussmann did not lie to conceal his political clients and, even if the truth was revealed, it wouldn't have hindered the FBI since the bureau was already aware of his Democratic ties.



Defense takes center stage



Sussmann's lawyers called six witnesses Wednesday. One of witnesses was Tashina Gauhar who was a former Justice Department official. She recorded notes that the defense believes it is exculpatory.



The notes stemmed from a meeting in March 2017 when top FBI brass briefed Justice Department leadership about the ongoing Russia-Trump probe. Gauhar's notes stated that the FBI got information about Alfa Bank from an attorney who came "on behalf of his client," which the defense claimed was a counter to the claim that Sussmann said to the FBI that he went on his own.



Two witnesses from the character also were present at the trial. They described Sussmann's character as a caring hardworking, honest man who lost his father in a fire that occurred in the hotel.



Jimma Elliott-Stevens worked as Sussmann's assistant at the Justice Department and is now general counsel at Thomson Reuters. "He's always been someone whose integrity has been unquestioned. He's a faithful and honest man of faith. So, I've never had any issues with his character or his integrity."



The defense wanted to call Eric Lichtblau, a journalist who worked at The New York Times in 2016 after Sussmann gave him his Trump-Alfa tip. But a dispute with prosecutor over the scope of his testimony stalled the process and his lawyers have confirmed to CNN that he would not be giving evidence.



It's not clear if Sussmann will be able to testify, which is an extremely risky, high-reward decision. Sussmann could counter Baker's testimony by adamantly telling the jury he didn't lie, and he could also talk about his career as a cybersecurity attorney who often assisted the US government. Durham's team would be given an equal opportunity to grill him , and possibly conduct the grilling.



If Sussmann doesn't appear in court the closing arguments could be held this week, paving the way for jury deliberations.



This story has been updated to include more information.


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