Special counsel John Durham told a federal court he is scrutinizing members of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as part of his criminal inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Durham’s team asked a judge to “inquire into a potential conflict of interest” related to the lawyers for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s main anti-Trump dossier source, noting that a separate lawyer at their firm “is currently representing the 2016 ‘Hillary for America’ presidential campaign, as well as multiple former employees of that campaign, in matters before the Special Counsel.”
Igor Danchenko, a United States-based and Russian-born researcher, was charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI. Durham’s indictment said Danchenko made these statements about the information he provided to Steele for his now-discredited dossier, which the FBI relied upon when pursuing authority for the secret surveillance of a one-time Trump campaign aide.
Stuart Sears and Danny Onorato, who took over as Danchenko’s defense lawyers this month, told Judge Anthony Trenga of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that Durham’s team was raising questions about Robert Trout, who is of counsel at their firm and represented Clinton campaign members in the past, but argued there is no conflict of interest.
Durham’s team argued the interests of the Clinton campaign and Danchenko “could potentially diverge in connection with any plea discussions, pretrial proceedings, hearings, trial, and sentencing proceedings.”
The special counsel’s team listed out five topics that could become relevant to the defense of Danchenko: “the Clinton Campaign’s knowledge or lack of knowledge concerning the veracity of information” in the Steele dossier; “the Clinton Campaign’s awareness or lack of awareness” of Danchenko’s “collection methods” for the dossier; “meetings or communications” between the Clinton campaign and Steele about Danchenko; “the defendant’s knowledge or lack of knowledge regarding the Clinton Campaign’s role in” the dossier; and “the extent to which the Clinton Campaign and/or its representatives directed, solicited, or controlled” Danchenko’s actions.
“On each of these issues, the interests of the Clinton Campaign and the defendant might diverge,” Durham said. “For example, the Clinton Campaign and the defendant each might have an incentive to shift blame and/or responsibility to the other party for any allegedly false information that was contained within the Company Reports and/or provided to the FBI.”
Durham’s team also hinted that former Clinton campaign members will be called to testify, which could be “a potential conflict.” The special counsel said it is likely the defense law firm “already has obtained privileged information” from the Clinton campaign about Danchenko and the dossier.
But the prosecution said it “believes that this potential conflict is waivable” if Danchenko chooses to waive it. The judge ordered the defense team to file a potential waiver by Christmas Eve.
Trout represented former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta during his December 2017 appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, though Trout was at another firm. When Podesta appeared before the same committee in June that year, he had been represented by Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias, who had hired the opposition firm Fusion GPS, which then contracted Steele to conduct his anti-Trump research.
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded in December 2019 that Steele’s dossier played a “central and essential” role in the FBI’s effort to obtain wiretap orders against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page. The DOJ watchdog determined the FBI’s investigation was filled with serious missteps and errors and concealed potentially exculpatory information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The inspector general said Danchenko undermined Steele’s claims of a “well-developed conspiracy” between former President Donald Trump and Russia.
Michael Sussmann is a defendant in a separate Durham case who has been accused of lying to the FBI’s top lawyer in September 2016 about who his client was as he pushed debunked claims about a secret backchannel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank. Sussmann denies misleading the FBI and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment states that “on or about September 15, 2016, Campaign Lawyer-1 exchanged emails with the Clinton Campaign’s campaign manager, communications director, and foreign policy adviser concerning the Russian Bank-1 allegations that Sussmann had recently shared with Reporter-1.” Clinton’s foreign policy adviser was Jake Sullivan (now President Joe Biden’s national security adviser), her campaign manager was Robby Mook, and her communications director was Jennifer Palmieri. “Campaign Lawyer-1” was Elias.
Horowitz said in his December 2019 report that the FBI “concluded by early February 2017 that there were no such links.”
The Russia hoax was an attempt by the Hillary to undermine the 2016 election results . This is a crime and she needs prosecuted and sentenced and jailed for crimes against America and a sitting president !
And all the murders she arranged!
Hillery certainly was involved. No doubt in my mind. These horrible people need to be held accountable. PERIOD.
A crying shame none of this will ever go anywhere. Wasting my tax dollars.
It is a fact not one of the people that are involved will ever get a fine let alone see the inside of a cell. Obama/Biden knew about all of it. DOJ, FBI are in on it as well.
Lots of talk and no action. Wake me when they issue the orange jumpsuits and parade them down main street!
Exactly!
I agree but they need to be executed why should we pay more out of our pockets to feed and house them.
Durham is a life long swamp creature and so is Hillary, nothing is going to happen, just another dog and pony show.
Agreed! Nothing to see here!
Hope you had a good Christmas my friend !
Celebrating tomorrow! What’s left of my family lives out of town! Hope you had a great Christmas!
More accurately, Durham tells the courts don’t worry, I won’t be doing anything to rock the boat. It is going on six years now. There are tons of investigations and data on Hillary, the Clintons and 2016. If he were serious he would comment on existing evidence and then say he was also doing other things. People had no doubt about the Democrats investigations of Trump. Durham is a phony, at best.
Cut to the chase, arrest and prosecute the criminals that tried to overthrow the duly elected president, President Trump! We know that will not happen because our justice system is not “ blind” it sees preferential treatment for those politically connected to the Democrat Party! If this weaponization of our government agencies is not fixed, soon, we will cease to be a Republic! We are very far down that road now!
When are heads going to roll???
My guess, never!
Oh, the games they play – cheating, lying, stealing, and continue to divert the truth with impeachment, J6 and spending of our tax dollars and people’s lives and they walk free even though they have destroyed more people’s lives than J6 which only destroyed innocent people’s lives that wanted to stand up for the truth. What is the name of this country? I guess we sat back too long and like “What happen to the cheese?” Have money and power and destroy!
YEAH SHE GETS OLD TARTENING THEY’RE SPENDING ALL OF OUR TAX PAYING MONEY FOR NOTHING TO REST THROUGH NO NAME PEOPLE THAT WE’VE NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE WE WANT THE PEOPLE PAYING FOR THE CRAP HILLARY CLINTON GEORGE SOROS JOE BIDEN NANCY PELOSI CHUCK SCHUMER ADAM SCHIFF JERRY NADLER ALL THEM CREEP DISGUSTING EVIL VILE SCUM NEEDS TO BE LOCKED UP BUT WE KNOW THEY NEVER WILL BE THEY GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING THEY WANT FBI CIA DOJ D O D PENTAGON MILITARY LEADERS THEY’RE ALL CORRUPT AS HELL JUDGES WE’RE SCREWED THE ONLY WAY OUT IT’S DOING OUR FOREFATHERS SAID START A MILITIA GO TO THE CAPITAL AND LEAD THEM OUT TAKE THEM ALL OUT AND THEN PUT NEW ONES IN LIKE OUR FOREFATHERS SAID THAT IS FOR WE THE PEOPLE TO DO AND THAT’S WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS IS THE BIGGEST INSURRECTION IN THE BIGGEST CRIME EVER IN HISTORY
SO TIREDSOME TO HEAR ABOUT THIS CRAP WHEN NOBODY GETS ARRESTED
THESE ARE ALL FELONIES TREES IN HIS CRIME THEY’RE ALL WALKING THE STREET WALKING OR CAPITAL CONGRESS WHITE HOUSE MILITARY SO SAD TO SEE WHAT AMERICA HAS COME TO I’M SO SICK OF EVERYBODY IS SAYING TOO OH WE’LL TAKE IT BACK IN 2022 2024 HOW THE HELL WE GOING TO DO THAT WHEN THEY’RE STILL IN THERE CHEATING AND STEALING NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT THE 20/20 ELECTIONS ARE VOTES DO NOT AND WILL NOT MATTER IF THEY DO N OT START MAKING ARRESTS AND DECERTIFYING AND GETTING THAT PEDOPHILE OUT OF AMERICA’S WHITE HOUSE AND INSTALLING TRUMP THE MAN WE VOTED FOR
Very true this is how I feel there will be no 2024 if we don’t do something about this now.
Thus far, no one has been able to indict her; she actually believes she is above the LAW. And the voter fraud from 2016 was never investigated, so the SCOTUS refused to stand up for our Constitution and voter integrity when it counted most!
She is above the Law, she cannot be prosecuted for her crimes, OUR Justice system are afraid of her, afraid for their Families..
Bla Bla Bla there is NO Politician NO Criminal Charges from any of OUR Top Dogs against Crooked Corrupt, Lying, Murdering Hillary Clinton, The FBI, CIA the DOJ ETC, not one of them agencies have the guts/spine to arrest her, they are afraid of her, she tells them when they can go to the bathroom. She is their Boss. she cannot be touched we already know/knew that, its been proven time and time again.. spare me the Bullshit head lines..
WOW, it only has taken 5 years (thus far) and we might actually see the HILDEBEAST and her ILK pay for their crimes AGAINST A SITTING PRESIDENT and WE THE PEOPLE……YET, they could get an ALL OUT FRAUD, SHAM INVESTIGATION against PRESIDENT TRUMP, AT THE DROP OF A LIBERAL TURD, AND NOT JUST ONE, BUT SEVERAL…..NOW SOMEONE TELL ME THERE IS NO DOUIBLE STANDARD!
They need to quit with asking questions all there getting are lies from the left. I say shoot them up with a truth serum then put them on the stand so everyone can hear or use a polygraph to get the truth. If we’re going to waste money, do it that way the left dance around every question there being asked let’s get this over with. Finish with the bull shit already.