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Trump Said The Durham Probe Is “Just The Beginning”…

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(RepublicanWire.org) – Former President Donald Trump is getting back into the campaign swing as his 2024 presidential campaign is heating up and he’s already weighing in on a slew of hot topics. The president recently spoke about Special Counsel John Durham’s two-year-long investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, saying he thinks the probe is “just the beginning” of what will be revealed to the public.

“It looks like this is just the beginning, because, if you read the filing and have any understanding of what took place, and I called this a long time ago, you’re going to see a lot of other things happening, having to do with what, really, just is a continuation of the crime of the century,” Trump said. “This is such a big event, nobody’s seen anything like this.”

“Who would think a thing like this is even possible?” Trump said. “Durham is also coming up with things far bigger than anybody thought possible—Nobody ever thought a thing like this would be even discussed, let alone an act like this committed.”

To Trump’s point, former Obama officials and Democrats are already taking aim at Durham and his final report.

An Obama-era spokesman for the Department of Justice believes Durham should not get the final say over his own report.

Matthew Miller — who served as the director of the Department of Justice’s public affairs office between 2009 and 2011 — said that Attorney General Merrick Garland, or another high-ranking official within the department, should review the report before it is shared with Americans.

“His cases are over. I think it’s clear that he’s not going to bring any more charges in this investigation, but one of the requirements for special counsels under the regulations is that they write a confidential report and submit it to the attorney general, and the attorney general then makes a decision whether to release that report to the public,” he said.

“I think Merrick Garland will be under a lot of pressure from Republicans to release that report, but I have to say, this circumstance is very different from the Mueller investigation, where, obviously, the attorney general, Bill Barr, did release that report,” the former spokesman said.

“It’s different because in that case, the subject of that investigation could not be charged, and so it was appropriate for the department to make its findings public, so Congress could decide whether to impeach and convict the then-sitting president,” he said. “That is not the case here, so to release a report in this instance — given what we know about the way that Durham has behaved, some of his inappropriate public statements during this investigation, the poor judgments he has made in bringing these charges — to release a report publicly and let him have the final word I think probably unfairly tarnish some people at the FBI that we know he holds ill will to based on some of the things he said in this most recent trial.”

“But it does not have to be the last word. Lots of times in the past — there’s ample precedent for this — when the Justice Department has written reports like this, the leadership decides whether that actually reflects their view,” he said. “John Durham does not get to be the final arbiter of what the Justice Department believes, so it would be appropriate for Merrick Garland to either review it and come up with his conclusions or, maybe more appropriately, refer it to the senior career official.”

But it gets worse.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee responded to a well-timed New York Times report earlier this year that claimed that there were ethical concerns during the investigation that led to several staff departures.

They included alleged concerns over former Attorney General William Barr’s involvement in the probe, as well as the decision to go to trial lacking sufficient evidence.

“These reports about abuses in Special Counsel Durham’s investigation — so outrageous that even his longtime colleagues quit in protest — are but one of many instances where former President Trump and his allies weaponized the Justice Department,” committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) noted in a statement.

“The Justice Department should work on behalf of the American people, not for the personal benefit of any president. As we wait for the results of ongoing internal reviews, the Senate Judiciary Committee will do its part and take a hard look at these repeated episodes, and the regulations and policies that enabled them, to ensure such abuses of power cannot happen again,” he said.

The DOJ previously suggested that Durham’s report will likely be made public when the investigation ends.

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John Durham Has A New Target…

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(RepublicanWire.org) – Just The News founder John Solomon believes that Special Counsel John Durham is preparing to go after the FBI. Solomon spoke about the special counsel’s investigation into the Trump-Russia witch hunt and what Durham’s next move might be.

Russian-born analyst Igor Danchenko — key source for the unverified Steele dossier that alleged ties between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia — was arrested by federal agents last year as part of the Durham investigation. Solomon explained that he believes Durham is dealing with “two buckets.”

In one “bucket,” there are the last two indictments against officials who were connected to Hillary Clinton and their plan to feed the FBI false information about Trump-Russia conspiracies. He said the other “bucket” focuses on the FBI and whether agents knowingly mislead the FISA court to obtain warrants to spy on members of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“But Durham developed really significant evidence that red flags, the stop-now warning signs go all the way back to August when Bruce Orr, in 2016 came to the FBI and said Christopher Steele is dumping a dossier. He hates Trump. He’s hired by Hillary Clinton and most of his information is raw and uncorroborated,” he said.

“A month after the CIA sends a warning to the FBI, this is something John Ratcliffe declassified, saying Hillary Clinton is trying to play a dirty trick on Donald Trump to tie him to Russia to get out of her e-mail thing. All through the fall, they keep a spreadsheet of what’s right and wrong with the Steele dossier. It’s all wrong. Can’t corroborate, they can’t collaborate the information. The FBI never should have started the investigation and I think that’s where John Durham’s investigation is focused right now,” he added.

A jury recently found former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI in September 2016 when he claimed that he was not working on behalf of any client when he brought information alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank.

“After a two-week trial, and more than a day of deliberations, the jury found that Special Counsel John Durham’s team had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Sussmann’s statement was a lie and that he was, in fact, working on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and technology executive Rodney Joffe when he brought two thumb drives and a white paper alleging a Trump-Russia connection,” Fox News reported.

“The jury included one federal government employee who told the judge they donated to Democrats in 2016 and another government employee who told the judge they strongly dislike former President Trump. Both of those jurors told the judge they could be impartial throughout the trial,” the report added. “The jury also included a teacher, an illustrator, a mechanic, and more. One juror had a child who was on the same high school sports team as Sussmann’s child.”

Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia witch hunt has been heating up for months, with many wanting Hillary Clinton and her allies held accountable.

Former Attorney General Barr, who served under President Donald Trump, believes Durham has made progress in his investigation and that more damning information may come out soon.

Barr said that Durham has “dug very deep” into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into disproven claims that then-candidate Trump was colluding with Russia to interfere with the 2016 election and has uncovered “good information.”

“I think the question all along … has been that this was a campaign-dirty-trick to get the government to investigate allegations — scurrilous allegations — about Donald Trump and then leak that right before the election,” Barr said. “And so that raises two questions: Was the Clinton campaign developing this false information and feeding it in for that purpose? And what was the FBI’s role in this? It tells me that he [has] dug very deep and he has developed some good information and he thinks he can make a criminal case here.”

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Durham Is Pulling The Plug…

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(RepublicanWire.org) – Special prosecutor John Durham is winding down his probe into the origin of the Trump Russia claims that rocked the country for years with no further charges according to media reports.

Durham could call another grand jury but according to the report, there are currently no plans to do so. Durham and his team are working on finishing a final report by the end of the year.

But Merrick garland will determine if it is released, in what form it is released, and what will be redacted so don’t expect much. In another sign Durham is wrapping it up, one of the lead prosecutors on his team is leaving for a job with a prominent law firm.

Durham and his team used a grand jury in Washington to indict Michael Sussmann, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign.

Sussman was indicted last year on a charge of making a false statement to the FBI at a meeting in which he shared a tip about potential connections between computers associated with Trump and a Kremlin-linked Russian bank.

Sussmann was acquitted of that charge at trial in May.

A grand jury based in the Eastern District of Virginia last year indicted a Russia analyst who had worked with Christopher Steele, a former British spy who was the author of a dossier of rumors and unproven assertions about Trump.

The dossier played no role in the FBI’s decision to begin examining the ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. It was used in an application to obtain a warrant to surveil a Trump campaign associate.

The analyst, Igor Danchenko, who is accused of lying to federal investigators, goes on trial next month in Alexandria, Virginia.

In the third case, Durham’s team negotiated a plea deal with an FBI lawyer whom an inspector general had accused of doctoring an email used in preparation for a wiretap renewal application.

The plea deal resulted in no prison time.

Durham has one case outstanding. From Just the News:

In a bombshell revelation, Special Prosecutor John Durham revealed Tuesday in court filings that the FBI paid a Russian businessman as a confidential human source in the investigation of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign even though it had prior concerns that businessman was tied to Moscow’s intelligence services.

Durham persuaded the federal judge in the upcoming trial of Igor Danchenko to unseal a motion revealing that Danchenko, the primary source of the now-discredited Steele dossier, was paid by the FBI as a confidential human source for more than three years until the fall of 2020 when he was terminated for lying to agents.

Danchenko is charged with five counts of lying to the bureau during that relationship and faces trial next month in federal court in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C.

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Our Faith In Institutions Just Took A Big Hit…

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(RepublicanWire.org) –  The jury on Tuesday found Michael Sussmann not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI in September 2016 when he said he was not working on behalf of any client, when he brought information alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank. 

After a two week trial, and more than a day of deliberations, the jury found that Special Counsel John Durham’s team had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Sussmann’s statement was a lie, and that he was, in fact, working on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and technology executive Rodney Joffe when he brought two thumb drives and a white paper alleging a Trump-Russia connection.

Sussmann was charged with one count of making a false statement to the FBI during his meeting with then-FBI General Counsel James Baker on Sept. 19, 2016.

In remarks following the verdict, Sussmann said that he had been falsely accused.

“I told the truth to the FBI, and the Jury clearly recognized this in their unanimous verdict today,” he said. “I’m grateful to the members of the jury for their careful thoughtful service. Despite being falsely accused I believe that Justice ultimately prevailed in my case. As you can imagine this has been a difficult year for my family and me. But right now we are grateful for the love and support of so many during this ordeal.”

Durham issued a terse statement expressing his office’s disappointment.

While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service,” Durham said. “I also want to recognize and thank the investigators and the prosecution team for their dedicated efforts in seeking truth and justice in this case.”

The jury included one federal government employee who told the judge they donated to Democrats in 2016 and another government employee who told the judge they “strongly” dislike former President Trump. Both of those jurors told the judge they could be impartial throughout the trial. 

The jury also included a teacher, an illustrator, a mechanic and more. One juror had a child who was on the same high school sports team as Sussmann’s child.

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Obama Appointed Judge Blocks Evidence…

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(RepublicanWire.org) – Special Prosecutor John Durham wanted to use Hillary Clinton’s tweet accusing Trump of having a secret line of communication with Russian Alfa Bank as evidence in Michael Sussmann’s trial next month. However, an Obama appointed judge will not allow Hillary Clinton’s tweet to be admitted as evidence.

Sussmann was indicted last September for lying to the FBI.

According to the indictment, Sussmann falsely told James Baker he wasn’t doing work “for any client” when he asked for a meeting with the FBI where he presented bogus evidence the Trump Tower was secretly communicating with Kremlin-tied Alfa Bank.

Hillary Clinton fired off a tweet claiming Trump Tower was secretly communicating with Russian Alfa Bank.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee on Wednesday denied Durham’s request to use Hillary Clinton’s tweet in Sussmann’s trial.

Hillary Clinton’s tweet touting Trump-Russia collusion claims will not be allowed as evidence in the trial against Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann despite efforts by special counsel John Durham

On Wednesday, Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, denied Durham’s efforts to bring the tweet up at trial, saying “the court will exclude that as hearsay” and that “it’s likely duplicative of other evidence” related to demonstrating the attorney-client relationship.

Durham had told the federal court earlier this month that he wanted the October 2016 tweet from the Clinton campaign promoting the Alfa-Bank claims to be admitted as evidence at the May trial.

The special counsel argued the tweet is not inadmissible hearsay “because it is not being offered for its truth” — emphasizing that the prosecutors actually believe its claims were false. Durham said he instead wanted to present the tweet to “show the existence of the defendant’s attorney-client relationship with the Clinton Campaign, which is directly relevant to the false statement charge.”

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Clinton Lawyer Charged With Making False Statement…

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(RepublicanWire.org) – Special Counsel John Durham filed new evidence Monday night in the case against Democratic Party lawyer Michael Sussmann, who has been charged with making a false statement to a federal agent during a September 2016 meeting with the FBI.

Sussmann allegedly failed to disclose his clients, including Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, to the FBI when he offered information in 2016 that he claimed demonstrated a secret channel between the Trump Organization and Kremlin-allied Alfa Bank.

During the meeting, Sussmann allegedly falsely claimed that he was not at the meeting on behalf of any client.

Durham’s latest filing shows that the evening before the lawyer’s meeting, he sent a text to an FBI official saying, “I’m coming on my own — not on behalf of a client or company — want to help the bureau.” 

The text message offers new evidence outside of the one-on-one meeting that Sussmann did in fact claim he was not participating in the meeting on behalf of a client.

The new filing also includes rceferences to the dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. A number of the allegations included in the Steele dossier, which was used by the FBI to obtain surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, have since been discredited.

Steele was a subcontractor for Fusion GPS, a research firm that Sussmann’s former law firm, Perkins Coie, had hired to look into potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Marc Elias, a campaign law specialist and one of Sussmann’s partners at Perkins Coie, was representing the Clinton campaign and hired Fusion GPS.

Though Sussmann’s indictment does not mention the Steele dossier, Durham’s new filing refers to the dossier and Steele, including a meeting with Sussmann that Steele has said included the alleged suspicions data scientists had about odd internet data they thought might indicate a secret channel between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.

Sussmann’s lawyers asked the judge to block prosecutors from making arguments and introducing evidence related to the dossier.

Sussmann’s defense lawyers claimed Durham is promoting a “baseless narrative that the Clinton campaign conspired with others to trick the federal government into investigating ties between President Trump and Russia.”

“But there was no such conspiracy; the special counsel hasn’t charged such a crime; and the special counsel should not be permitted to turn Mr. Sussmann’s trial on a narrow false statement charge into a circus full of sideshows that will only fuel partisan fervor,” attorneys for Sussmann wrote.

Meanwhile, the new Durham filing asked the judge to prevent the defense from making arguments and presenting evidence “that depict the special counsel as politically motived or biased based on his appointment” by the Trump administration.

“The only purpose in advancing these arguments would be to stir the pot of political polarization, garner public attention and, most inappropriately, confuse jurors or encourage jury nullification,” it said. “Put bluntly, the defense wishes to make the special counsel out to be a political actor when, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.”

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