{UAH} WE HAVE COME A VERY LONG WAY RAISING THE DANGER OF ALLAN BARIGYE A RWANDAN IN THIS FORUM AND WE ARE NOT DONE YET -> Trust me !!!!!

Judge lets Durham case against Democrat-connected lawyer go to trial

The judge rejected Michael Sussmann’s motion to dismiss the case

By Matt Zapotosky

Special Counsel John Durham. (AP)

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A federal judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss Special Counsel John Durham’s criminal case against Democratically connected lawyer Michael Sussmann, paving the way for the matter to head to trial.

The six-page ruling was highly technical, and the judge did not offer a resounding endorsement of the special counsel’s case. But it was an undeniable win for Durham, and sets the stage for a high-profile courtroom showdown next month.

Sussmann was charged in September with lying to the FBI. By Durham’s account, Sussmann claimed he was approaching the bureau’s general counsel in 2016 with potentially damaging information about then-candidate Donald Trump on his own, when in fact he was doing so on behalf of a tech executive he represented and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Sussmann has pleaded not guilty in the case and argued in a motion to dismiss the case that even if he did as Durham alleged, that would not be a federal crime.

 

The motion hinged on whether the purported lie Sussmann told the bureau — that he was not representing any client — was “material,” or relevant, to what the bureau did. Sussmann argued it was not and asserted that charging tipsters who might hide their motive from federal law enforcement could have a chilling effect on those who might otherwise approach with information.

Judge Christopher R. Cooper indicated it was possible Sussmann’s arguments might ultimately prove right, but legal precedent required the matter to first go to trial.

“Indeed, all the cases Sussmann cites where courts have found alleged false statements to be immaterial were decided after a trial and on appeal from post-trial motions …,” the judge wrote. “So, while Sussmann is correct that certain statements might be so peripheral or unimportant to a relevant agency decision or function to be immaterial … as matter of law, the Court is unable to make that determination as to this alleged statement before hearing the government’s evidence.”

 

Durham’s team argued Sussmann’s lie was relevant. Had the bureau known that Sussmann was approaching on behalf of two clients with political interests, they might have asked more questions about the source of his information or taken different investigative steps, a Durham prosecutor said at a recent court hearing.

The information Sussmann presented was computer data showing possibly nefarious computer connections between the Trump Organization, which is the former president’s business entity, and a Russian financial institution known as Alfa Bank. The FBI investigated the matter but ultimately could not prove the computer data showed anything nefarious.

Durham was tapped by then-Attorney General William P. Barr in 2019 to review the FBI’s 2016 investigation of Trump’s campaign and whether it conspired with Russia. Barr named him a special counsel soon before leaving office.

 

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