Durham Urges Court Not to Dismiss Charge Against Lawyer Who Hid Ties to Clinton Campaign

The Epoch Times Header

Special counsel John Durham on March 4 urged a federal judge not to dismiss a charge against a lawyer who lied to the FBI about representing Hillary Clintonโ€™s 2016 presidential campaign.

Michael Sussmann was representing the Clinton campaign when in 2016 he passed along information to then-FBI General Counsel James Baker. His lawyers say the documents โ€œraised national security concernsโ€ while prosecutors describe them as purportedly detailing a covert channel between a Russian bank and the business of Donald Trump, Clintonโ€™s rival at the time.

Sussmann was charged with lying to the FBI because he falsely told Baker he was not providing the allegations to the FBI on behalf of any client, despite presenting the information on behalf of the Clinton campaign, prosecutors say. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent.

In a filing in February, Sussmannโ€™s lawyers moved to dismiss the charge, claiming their client โ€œdid not make any false statement to the FBI,โ€ but even if he had, โ€œthe false statement alleged in the indictment is immaterial as a matter of law.โ€

โ€œAllowing this case to go forward would risk criminalizing ordinary conduct, raise First Amendment concerns, dissuade honest citizens from coming forward with tips, and chill the advocacy of lawyers who interact with the government,โ€ the filing stated. โ€œThe Special Counselโ€™s unprecedented and unlawful overreach should not be countenanced, and the single count against Mr. Sussmann should be dismissed.โ€

In its reply on March 4, Durhamโ€™s team asked the court not to follow the demand.

โ€œThe defendantโ€™s 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,โ€ their filing said.

โ€œThe defendantโ€™s efforts to mislead the FBI in this manner during the height of a Presidential election season plainly could have influenced the FBIโ€™s decision-making in any number of ways.โ€

By Zachary Stieber

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Columns

Trumpโ€™s Latest Angry Post About Putin Is His Most Significant One Yet

Trumpโ€™s latest angry post about Putin revealed how he perceives the Ukrainian Conflict. According to Trump, โ€œ[Putin] has gone absolutely CRAZY!

Trucking Industry Insiders Back Move to Bring Back English Proficiency Checks

U.S. govt is taking steps to close a legal loophole that allowed logistics companies to employ truck drivers who aren't necessarily credentials to do job.

President Trump is RIGHT to Defund Higher Ed!

Harvard is suing Trump Admin calling on court to restore research dollars after refusal to cooperate to combat Antisemitism and hate speech on campus.

Triumph for the American People as โ€˜One Big Beautiful Billโ€™ Passes House

In a historic victory for President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.

Choctaw Nation Honors Code Talkers Who Helped Turn the Tide in WWI

Shortly after enlisting, Oklahombi and 19 other Choctaw men became part of an effort using their language to help win the war for the Allies.

News

CDC Stops Recommending COVID Vaccine for Healthy Children, Pregnant Women

CDC will no longer recommend healthy children and pregnant women take COVID-19 vaccine shots, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced.

Supreme Court Wonโ€™t Hear Studentโ€™s Challenge to School Ban on โ€˜Two Gendersโ€™ Shirt

U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept a studentโ€™s challenge to a Massachusetts schoolโ€™s decision to ban his โ€œthere are only two gendersโ€ T-shirt.

Prosecutors Seek 3-Year Sentence for Chinese Man Who Operated Secret Police Station in NYC

U.S. prosecutors are seeking three-year prison sentence for Chinese American citizen accused of operating a secret police station for Beijing in NYC borough of Manhattan.

FBI Deputy Director Bongino Says Bureau Looking at Several Cases Involving โ€˜Potential Public Corruptionโ€™

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on Monday that the bureau is looking at launching investigations into cases of potential public corruption.

WHO Deems New COVID Strain a โ€˜Variant Under Monitoringโ€™ Amid Resurgence in China

WHO said a new COVID-19 variant has been designated as a โ€œvariant under monitoringโ€ amid reports indicating a resurgence of virus in mainland China.

California Utility Agrees to Pay $82.5 Million to Settle Claims From 2020 Fire

Southern California Edison reached a record $82.5 million settlement with U.S. to resolve claims from 2020 Bobcat Fire in Angeles National Forest.

Musk Says He Is Going Back to Working on His Companies After X Outage

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will resume working at his companies around the clock following a widespread outage of his social media platform X.

Key Vote Puts Texas Closer to Displaying Ten Commandments in Classrooms

Texas Legislature cleared a major vote on a measure that would require the stateโ€™s public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
spot_img

Related Articles