On Friday, former Attorney General William Barr presented an update on the status of John Durham, the ‘Russiagate’ special counsel that he was involved in when he appointed.
Barr said in an interview with Fox News’ “The Story” that Durham has “dug very deep” into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into disproven claims that then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was ‘colluding’ with Russia to interfere with the 2016 election and has uncovered “good information,” while also implying that the initial probe was entirely political.
“I believe the issue has been raised all along… that this was a dirty campaign tactic to get the government to investigate scurrilous charges about Donald Trump and then release it just before the election,” Barr said in the statement to Fox News.
“This begs two questions: Was the Clinton campaign responsible for creating and disseminating this misleading information? And what part did the FBI have in this?” According to Fox News, Barr stated that the investigation of former Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann, who has been indicted in the inquiry, is critical to determining if Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign engaged in unlawful activities.
“It tells me he’s delved extremely deep and acquired some strong material, and he feels he can construct a criminal case here,” Barr said. “And there’s never been a question in my mind that if there’s a crime to be proven in and presented by the prosecution, Durham would do it,” he added of the former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Barr was also questioned on recent charges against Trump, including claims that he breached the law by carrying secret White House materials to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., which the former attorney general dismissed as “a molehill.” “The entire categorization system is designed for the president; it is his authority that is employed.”
“The entire categorization system is for the president, and it is based on his power.” “And he has the authority to classify or declassify anything as he sees fit,” Barr said, adding that there is “perhaps a technical breach” at work. Barr’s judgment follows a flurry of publications detailing new court filings in Durham’s probe, indicating that the special counsel’s team believes criminal offenses occurred and that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was complicit in constructing the false Russian collusion story.
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Special counsel John Durham indicted Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann last October for passing on a false story to the FBI. Durham maintains his claim saying that Sussmann told the federal Investigation bureau he was not working for any client when the material was given along, but that he was really working for the former first lady’s campaign. Sussmann’s request to “strike” a “factual background” part of Special Counsel John Durham’s early February court filing was denied by a federal judge last month.
Sussmann’s attorneys submitted a request asking the court to strike sections of the Feb. 11 document, including the “Factual Background” section, on the grounds that it would “taint” a jury. “Allowing this case to proceed risks criminalizing everyday activity, raising First Amendment issues, discouraging honest individuals from coming forward with tips, and chilling the advocacy of lawyers who contact with the government,” according to the petition. Sussmann’s “absurd” request to have charges of lying to the FBI dismissed against him was criticized by Durham.
The special counsel accused Sussmann of lying to the FBI in 2016 by passing on “very explosive claims” about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump without disclosing his ties to the Clinton campaign, according to a blistering court filing.
Durham’s attorneys branded Durham’s accusations “absurd” and sought the federal court in the District of Columbia to hear the case. “Rather than putting himself in the vulnerable position of an ordinary person whose speech is likely to be chilled,” Durham wrote in his court filing, “the defendant – a sophisticated and well-connected lawyer – chose to bring politically-charged allegations to the FBI’s chief legal officer at the height of an election season.”
“He then decided to mislead about the clients who were the source of the claims. “Using such uncommon access to the halls of power for political deception is hardly the kind of speech that the Founders meant to protect,” Durham continued. In the end, the court decided in Durham’s favor.
During a status hearing, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Christopher Cooper said, “I’m not going to strike anything from the record.” “Whatever impact the submission had is no longer relevant.” The Clinton lawyer is now being investigated for knowingly and willingly providing false information to the FBI.
