Former Hillary Clinton operative Michael Sussmann was intentionally throwing his political weight around when he paid a visit to the Federal Bureau of Instigation back in 2016. Elusive Special Prosecutor John Durham was personally present in the courtroom on Tuesday, as lead prosecutor Deborah Brittain Shaw presented her opening argument, kicking off Sussmann’s trial on charges of lying to the FBI.
Sussmann a heavy weight fixer
Michael Sussmann, the special prosecutors argue, had a whole lot of political weight to throw around and he used it all for Hillary. In her opening statement, Ms. Brittain Shaw informed the jury that when Mr. Sussmann worked for Clinton’s campaign, he was well known as “a privileged, high-powered person.”
It’s clear, she argues, that he “abused his connections with the FBI in a bid to harm former President Donald Trump’s campaign just weeks before the election.”
Sussmann, she explained, “misled the FBI about who he represented when he met with the bureau’s top lawyer.” The heavy weight discussions happened September 19, 2016. The whole point of the meeting was “to provide a tip alleging internet communications between Trump’s business and a Russian bank.”
One which had been created out of thin air. All of the allegations, Reuters confirms, “were investigated and later discredited.”
Even though the tip itself is a lie, that isn’t what Sussmann is in trouble over.
“The evidence will show that this is a case about privilege – the privilege of a well-connected D.C. lawyer with access to the highest levels of the FBI,” Shaw passionately argued. He was simply throwing his Washington weight around to “use the FBI as a political tool.” A tool to destroy Hillary’s political opponent.
Secret communications
William Barr appointed John Durham as a Special Prosecutor back in 2019 to find out if the FBI did anything wrong. Durham hasn’t been seen in public since. He’s in court today and giving Sussmann the evil eye.
Everyone knows the bureau left no stone unturned when they unleashed Crossfire Hurricane, to practically manufacture evidence of Trump’s campaign “colluding with Russia.” The FBI didn’t bother checking the back story of such a heavy weight persona.
On the fateful day, Sussmann met with James Baker, who has some weight to throw around, too. He’s not just some special agent. At the time, Baker was the lawyer who represents the FBI as an agency in court.
The title is “General Counsel.” Sussmann had a thumb drive in his pocket that was supposed to “provide evidence of potential secret communications between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank.” Baker was practically salivating to get his hands on it.
According to team Durham, “Sussmann lied when he claimed he was not passing along information about Trump on behalf of any specific client, when in fact he was representing two clients: Clinton’s presidential campaign and Rodney Joffe, a technology executive who oversaw the research into the alleged connections between Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization.”
That evidence has a lot of weight toward incriminating others. “The FBI is our institution. It should not be used as a political tool for anyone,” Brittain Shaw informs.
