Michael Sussmann’s trial for lying to the FBI in regards to the debunked Alfa Bank story targeting Donald Trump has featured several twists and turns. Earlier in the proceedings, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager, Robby Mook, admitted that the failed presidential candidate had personally agreed to the dissemination of the disinformation.
This was the first direct link to Clinton after years of deceit. Clinton has always presented herself as innocent, sharing only what she read in the news. While she agreed to give the Alfa Bank story out to journalists, there was the question of whether she had given her blessing to make it available to the FBI.
That’s where Michael Sussmann comes in. While he denied working on behalf of any client when he took the disinformation to the FBI, Special Counsel John Durham brought the literal receipts on Tuesday, proving that he had billed Clinton on that very same day for a “confidential project.”
Government prosecutors on Wednesday presented the jury with Michael Sussmann’s billing records, which they say prove he charged the Hillary Clinton campaign for his meeting with then-FBI General Counsel James Baker where he shared allegations of a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank.
The prosecution’s final witness was Kori Arsenault, a paralegal with Special Counsel John Durham’s office. Arsenault worked on much of the government’s exhibits and helped to explain the records to the jury.
The prosecution on Wednesday morning produced the record from Perkins Coie that they say proves the law firm billed “Hillary for America” for the meeting Sussmann had with Baker at FBI headquarters on Sept. 19, 2016.
On the bill, also dated Sept. 19, 2016, the Clinton campaign is listed as the client, the time is listed as 3.3 hours, and the memo states: “work and communications regarding confidential project.”
It is clear that Sussmann did indeed work for Clinton during his time at the FBI. This bill covers a certain amount of time that occurred on the exact same date as the meeting. It would appear that this confirms his lying to James Baker (then-General Counsel), when he claimed to be a third party concerned and not an operative political. Further, it shows that Clinton herself, as the leader of her campaign, didn’t just approve the false story going to the media, but also to the FBI.
The long view of this is that it’s another direct link to Clinton herself. I’ve long maintained that Sussmann’s prosecution is just a building block. Durham now has the ability to go back to the source of the plot by proving Sussmann provided false information to FBI for Clinton’s campaign. He can even move the opposite direction and target FBI personnel who were aware of the plot. Already, at least one investigation of this nature is underway. Sussmann was the one that brought Clinton together with the FBI. He is now the first to be investigated.
There’s a lot more left to come as the defense makes its counter. Further, with a jury stacked in Sussmann’s favor, including a juror who donated to Clinton and another that says they can’t be impartial regarding Donald Trump, there’s just no way to predict how this will turn out. Durham may have done everything correctly, but still be unsuccessful in securing a conviction. The evidence is overwhelming that Clinton’s campaign conspired to invent a conspiracy theory, and then fed it to FBI agents for political gain.
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