The indictment says the DNC retained Sussmann in April 2016 to represent it in connection with Russia's hacking of DNC servers, and Sussmann also advised the Clinton campaign on cybersecurity issues. Durham boasts over four decades in the legal field, and Time magazine has noted his nonpartisan professionalism. Durham loses again in court, but trial airs FBI flaws, Jury gets Danchenko case in what may be Durham's swan song, Judge dismisses 1 of 5 counts against Trump dossier source, Durham presents new evidence on day 2 of Danchenko trial, Sussmann acquitted on charge brought by special counsel Durham, Jury sees conflicting evidence on Michael Sussmann's role at FBI Trump-Russia meeting, Jurors hear contrasting stories about FBI handling of Trump-Russia secret server claims, Clinton 2016 campaign manager denies approving passing anti-Trump info to FBI. He was born on March 16, 1950. [20] The U.S. Justice Department's first official expenditure report for the special investigation showed that it had spent $1.5 million from Oct 19, 2020, to March 31, 2021; Durham was not required to report expenditures made before being designated special counsel. So far, only one other individual a former low-level FBI attorney named Kevin Clinesmith has been charged in the investigation. However, during the Trump era, not only did the president frequently publicly pronounce his views on prosecutions that involved political cronies, but the Justice Department itself was also riven by overtly politically motivated actions that destroyed morale. Several years later, however, Durham always appears quiet, professional, and definitely apolitical. Durham alleged at the two trials that the FBI had been deceived by the defendants but did not allege the FBI had acted improperly. There is no indication anything came of this, but upon being tipped off, the bureau did some digging and learned that Danchenko had been in contact with people it was investigating as possible Russian intelligence officers. Of that, nearly $1.9 million was directly related to the teams investigation and approximately $471,000 was spent by other parts of the Justice Department in connection to Durhams work. Tape Case", "U.S. Attorney For Connecticut John Durham Resigns", "Scrutiny of Russia Investigation Is Said to Be a Review, Not a Criminal Inquiry", "AP source: Barr launches new look at origins of Russia probe", "Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation", "Durham remains special counsel overseeing Trump-Russia probe", "John H. Durham Sworn in as United States Attorney", "John H. Durham: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know", "President Trump Nominates John Durham To Be U.S. Attorney", "Barr appoints John Durham as special counsel investigating 2016 presidential campaign investigators | CNN Politics", "Barr Makes Durham a Special Counsel in a Bid to Entrench Scrutiny of the Russia Inquiry", "Justice Dept. John Durham Probe Charges Washington Lawyer With Lying To FBI A cybersecurity lawyer who worked at a law firm tied to the Democratic Party is the second person charged in John . [22][23][24] On November 8, 2010, Durham closed the investigation without recommending any criminal charges be filed. U.S. Attorney John Durham, center, outside federal court in New Haven, Connecticut in February 2021 Sussmann's allies believed they found some potentially alarming links from Trump to Russia,. [34] By September 2022 the costs of his investigation has climbed to $6.5 million since assuming the role of special counsel. [6] He was one of 56 remaining Trump-appointed U.S. Yet they kept him on board, kept paying him. New developments in Hunter Biden investigation, Trump publicly asks Putin to release information on Hunter Biden, leave in place the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney. ", "The Special Counsel appears to be using this indictment to advance a conspiracy theory he has chosen not to actually charge," they said in a statement. In that meeting, Sussmann shared information about possible ties between a Kremlin-linked Russian lender, Alfa Bank, and a computer server at the Trump Organization. [14], In 2008, Durham was appointed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations. Unlike the Jan. 6 Capitol attack cases and potential investigations into members of Congress and Trump advisers that could emerge, the Hunter Biden matter is not one that involves seditious conspiracy against the U.S., an attempt to overturn a presidential election or any other issue of national significance. The deaths of two different Gitmo detainees were investigated, but, when the investigation was complete, no charges were filed. John H. Durham will remain as special counsel even as the Biden administration requests a mass resignation of U.S. attorneys. Danchenko and Sussmann are among the three people who have faced criminal charges from Durhams probe since it was commissioned by then-attorney general William Barr in May 2019. And Durham is gearing up for his last trial: the prosecution of Igor Danchenko, the principal source for the discredited Steele dossier. Copyright 2010-2021 This Nation. In 2007, the documents helped Salvati, Limone, and the families of the two other men, who had died in prison, win a $101.7 million civil judgment against the government. Does everybody remember when we caught the Democrats, red-handed, SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN? [3][11] After graduation, he was a VISTA volunteer for two years (19751977) on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. More than $670,000 went toward personnel costs, more than $280,000 went toward travel and more than $797,000 went toward IT and litigative support, according to the report. [15] He also led a series of high-profile prosecutions in Connecticut against the New England Mafia and corrupt politicians, including former Governor John G. He has been appointed a special investigator by the federal government as well. Americans anxiously await further Durham findings, and experts say that there is much more to come regarding Durhams investigation. But Baker emphasized that he intentionally avoided learning more about the claim. Democrats and others have long asserted that Durhams investigation is a political stunt meant to undercut a legitimate FBI probe that dogged Trumps presidency. We now know that the so-called dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele was a Clinton campaign production. Attorney General Merrick Garland is said to anticipate receiving his final report by the end of the year. seeks resignations of Trump-era US attorneys", "What Is a Special Counsel and What Can They Do? After in one year in this position, Durham would then move to the Assistant States Attorney position in the New Haven, Connecticut office of the Connecticut States Attorney. Torture Raises New Questions", "Holder Hires Prosecutor to Look Into Alleged CIA Interrogation Abuses", "Investigation of Bush-era Torture Concludes With No Charges", "Holder Rules Out Prosecutions in C.I.A. Durham is investigating the department's . The information was significant because it was included in a series of reports prepared by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who had been hired by an opposition research firm working for the Clinton campaign. As the investigation heats up, Bidens hands-off approach versus Donald Trumps hands everywhere approach is starkly illustrated by Trumps shoutout to Russian President Vladimir Putin to release dirt on Hunter Biden. Room B-103 This enterprise included substantial reliance by the FBI on the bogus Steele dossier in obtaining spying authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) on sworn representations that the bureau believed Trump was in a conspiracy of cooperation with Vladimir Putins anti-American regime. "At its core, the Special Counsel is bringing a false statement charge based on an oral statement allegedly made five years ago to a single witness that is unrecorded and unobserved by anyone else. Prosecutors allege Sussmann lied by denying that he was representing any client as he told the FBI about digital evidence allegedly linking computers in Trump Tower to Russias Alfa Bank. An official website of the United States government. An accounting released earlier this year showed Durhams investigation cost U.S. taxpayers about $1.45 million from mid-October 2020 through March 2021. He was appointed by Michael Mukasey to investigate whether tapes had been destroyed after interrogations. But the prosecutors curiously portrayed the FBI as the victim of Sussmanns machinations when the proof suggested that the bureau was not fooled at all and seemed more like a willing participant in building the Trump/Russia political narrative. John Henry Durham (born March 16, 1950)[3][4][5] is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut (D. Conn.) from 2018 to 2021. Raskin roasts Durham inquiry as 'total flop,' presses Republicans to investigate. How rich is King Charles? And under questioning from Democratic staff, Baker added that he wouldnt have viewed the information differently had he been aware of Sussmanns link to the campaign. It is one of the great dirty tricks in modern political history: The 2016 Democratic presidential campaign colluded with the incumbent Democratic administrations law enforcement and intelligence apparatus to portray their partisan opposition, Donald Trump, as a Kremlin mole, then made the smear stick to the point of forcing Trump to govern for over two years under the cloud of a special-counsel investigation. The first, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty to altering an email used to obtain a surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. If they wanted to go interview Sussmann and ask him all those kind of questions, fine with me.. The Debrief with Hugo Gurdon: Why nobody wants a rematch of Trump and Biden in 2024. However, after the Biden administration took office, Attorney General Merrick Garland reserved the right to overrule Durhams major decisions. The Patriarca family, who chiefly made up the New England Mafia, had territory in Eastern Connecticut, where Durham was prosecutor. [14], From 2008 to 2012, Durham served as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Often, Renos first question to me about any case I was reporting to her about was likely to be what Margolis thought about how it was progressing. The case is one of three brought so far by special counsel John Durham, who was tapped in 2019 by then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate the genesis of the FBI's Trump-Russia probe.. Of course, that did not mean that people were not aware of which cases were politically sensitive. Last year, Durham indicted him on five counts of lying to the FBI. By KELLY HOOPER and JOSH GERSTEIN. A previous spending report released in May showed the Durham probe had totaled about $1.5 million from Oct. 19 through March 31. Russian National Indicted for Making False Statements to the FBI, Grand Jury Indicts D.C. Attorney with Making False Statements to the FBI in 2016 Regarding Alleged Communications Between Trump Organization and Russian Bank. It may also lead to increased scrutiny of actions for possible violations of election interference laws, as well as the seldom-used Logan Act, which makes it a criminal offense for U.S. citizens to influence foreign governments to defeat the measures of the United States.. and last updated 2021-09-27 20:28:55-04. Durham attended Colgate University, in Hamilton, NY. John Durham is a native of Boston, MA. Danchenko turns out to have been Steeles principal source for this fever dream. Ricos case never went to trial; Rico passed away before it could be done. From 1978 to 1982, Durham served as an Assistant State's Attorney in the New Haven State's Attorney's Office. If youre keeping score, that would be throughout (a) most of the FISC-authorized surveillance; (b) the Mueller investigation, which somehow failed to detect or at least to report that Danchenko misled the bureau; and (c) Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitzs investigations of the FBIs misconduct in the Trump investigation in the reports of which there is no indication that Horowitz was told Danchenko was on the bureau payroll and available to be interviewed. Durhams investigation suffered a significant setback in the spring when a Washington, DC, jury acquitted Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann. He is 5 10 in height, and he weighs approximately 187 lbs. John Durham News Current Page: 1 . By April 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr had tasked Durham with overseeing a review of the origins of the Russia investigation and to determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate". According to the indictment, Sussmann provided Baker with two thumb drives and hard copies of the materials, including a document Sussmann had helped write, one written by a researcher and another written by the political research firm working for the Clinton campaign to dig up opposition research about Trump. He also billed the Clinton campaign for meetings with journalists about the same materials. Updated: 09/16/2021 09:15 PM EDT. [27] Durham's mandate was to look at only those interrogations that had gone "beyond the officially sanctioned guidelines", with Holder saying interrogators who had acted in "good faith" based on the guidance found in the Torture Memos issued by the Bush Justice Department were not to be prosecuted. [29] Davis wrote an appeal to former Bush administration officials to take their accounts of illegality directly to Durham.