Judge Christopher Cooper of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Wednesday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tweets, which blatantly promoted Trump-Russia collusion claims, will not be allowed as evidence in the Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann’s trial.
According to the Washington Examiner, Cooper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, dismissed the tweets as evidence, adding that “the court will exclude that as hearsay” and that “it’s likely duplicative of other evidence” in showing the attorney-client relationship.
“Donald Trump has a secret server … It was set up to communicate privately with a Putin-tied Russian bank,” Clinton tweeted on Halloween 2016.
The judge rejected Special Counsel John Durham’s attempt to use that tweet as evidence against Sussmann in his impending trial.
It’s time for Trump to answer serious questions about his ties to Russia. https://t.co/D8oSmyVAR4 pic.twitter.com/07dRyEmPjX
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 31, 2016
Clinton would go on to tweet, “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.”
Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank. pic.twitter.com/8f8n9xMzUU
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 1, 2016
Then-Clinton campaign adviser, and Joe Biden’s current national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, claimed in a statement that was also shared by Clinton:
“This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow. This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia.”
“We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia,” he added.
Sussmann was previously indicted in September 2016 for allegedly concealing his clients from FBI General Counsel James Baker, including Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and “Tech Executive-1,” who is supposedly former Neustar executive Rodney Joffe. The attorney was believed to be promoting the now-debunked charges of collaboration between former President Donald Trump and Alfa-Bank of Russia. Sussmann, predictably, has pled not guilty.
Durham had presented his argument to the judge that the tweet did not comprise inadmissible hearsay “because it is not being offered for its truth.” He asserted that prosecutors consider the claims to be false. He wanted to have the tweet admitted as evidence to “show the existence of the defendant’s attorney-client relationship with the Clinton Campaign, which is directly relevant to the false statement charge.”
“First, contrary to the Special Counsel’s misleading statement of the law, the Tweet is hearsay and it is plainly being offered for the truth: so that the Special Counsel can argue that the Campaign’s plan all along was to make a public statement about ‘federal authorities’ looking into the ‘direct connection between Trump and Russia,’” Sussman’s attorneys argued. “Second, the Tweet — which Mr. Sussmann did not author, issue, authorize, or even know about — is irrelevant, prejudicial, and would only confuse and distract the jury from the single false statement charge it must decide.”
“The Tweet, which was posted on October 31, 2016, does not reveal anything about Mr. Sussmann’s state of mind over a month earlier, when he purportedly made the alleged false statement,” they wrote. “There is no evidence that Mr. Sussmann’s meeting with Mr. Baker had anything to do with the Clinton Campaign’s broader media strategy.”
Durham retorted that “in the months preceding the publication of these articles, the defendant had communicated with the media and provided them with the Russian Bank-1 data and allegations,” and that he kept Clinton General Counsel Marc Elias “aware of his efforts,” while Elias “communicated with the Clinton Campaign’s leadership about potential media coverage of these issues.”
Durham claims that beginning in late July 2016, Sussmann, Joffe, and “agents of the Clinton campaign” began “assembling and disseminating the Russian Bank-1 allegations and other derogatory information about Trump and his associates to the media and the United States government.” He also claims that evidence will “establish that these efforts amounted to a joint venture.”
In response to Durham’s arguments that the tweet should be admitted as evidence, Sussmann’s attorneys declared that “there is a real danger that if the Tweet were admitted, the jury would believe that Hillary Clinton herself was part of the Special Counsel’s uncharged conspiracy and that she had a direct interest or involvement in Mr. Sussmann’s efforts. Drawing the candidate herself into this matter in this way would be unfair to Mr. Sussmann.”
The indictment stated Elias sent emails about the Alfa-Bank claims Sussmann made to Sullivan, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, and Clinton’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri. Elias is also said to have billed the Clinton campaign for his time.
According to Durham filing, Fusion GPS had email exchanges with reporters from the following outlets pushing the Russia collusion hoax:
ABC News
New York Times
Reuters
Slate
Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Yahoo Newshttps://t.co/N5LB0S2Drb— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 27, 2022
The Washington Examiner reports, Elias was up to his neck concerning the dossier setup:
“Elias hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which in turn hired British ex-spy Christopher Steele in 2016. Elias testified he was aware of Fusion’s plans to have Steele brief reporters on his anti-Trump research during the 2016 contest, met with Steele during the 2016 contest, and periodically briefed the campaign about the findings from Fusion and Steele. Sussmann also met with Steele in 2016 and pushed Alfa-Bank claims to him, which Steele, in turn, pushed to the U.S. government.”
Clinton has fought tooth and nail to keep her records private, citing attorney-client privilege. She is joined in her efforts to derail Durham’s efforts to have them admitted as evidence in court by Fusion GPS, the Democratic National Committee, and the Perkins Coie law firm. Among the documents are hundreds of emails purportedly from Fusion GPS proving that the firm promoted false Trump-Russia collusion claims to the media throughout 2016.
Last week, Durham asserted that the apparent Trump-Russia connection was “user-created.”
“While the FBI did not reach an ultimate conclusion regarding the data’s accuracy or whether it might have been in whole or in part genuine, spoofed, altered, or fabricated, [the CIA] concluded in early 2017 that the Russian Bank 1 data and Russian Phone Provider 1 data was not ‘technically plausible,” did not
“withstand technical scrutiny,” “contained gaps,” ‘conflicted with [itself]” and was “user-created and not machine/tool generated,” he wrote according to court documents.
Durham reveals fusion GPS staffers regularly emailed reporters with unverified claims against Trump. pic.twitter.com/L33zbAShkI
— Frank Aiken a Patriot for Trump. (@awesomeaiken) April 27, 2022
Here are some comments from folks online:
“Seems we have judges ruling not by law but by their politics! Democrats have made a mess of this country, and their mess is getting bigger by the day, it seems.”
“I hardly think a MESSAGE from The hilLIARry confirming HER ROLE in the conspiracy would be “hearsay”!!
“The DEEP STATE is beyond the abyss. America has been ASLEEP while the Communists have infiltrated EVERYTHING! Lies, deceit, cover ups, you name it.,AND it’s ALL ABOUT MONEY! Lobbyists in D.C., greasing the hands of “politicians” AND favoring “Bills” to line their own pockets, “WHILE” doing “insider trading” & buying stocks that “they” KNOW are gonna “take off. Infiltrating ALL schools with “their” sexual “agenda”, CRAZY “science” that reduces HUMANS beneath animals, and “attempting” to restructure Judeo-Christian ETHICS. “BRAINWASH” people with “news”, CRAZY “doublespeak”, AND keep feeding LIES to Americans via “government”,whether it’s FBI, State Dept. OR Jen Psaki. Communism is EVERYWHERE! Start with Bernie Sanders, Ocaisio-Cortez, & “the muslims” from Detroit & “Somalia” in the northwest. “WE” who WANT “free speech”, have been SILENCED by George Soros, his BIG $$$’s , the “news” media, AND the internet. Our schools have been “infiltrated”, our Churches “shut down”, our FREEDOMS are “non-existent” under Biden, AND NOW” he” wants your guns! “IS” this NOT “what” Hitler & Stalin did?”
“The corrupt Dims never give up their anti-America & self-serving lies and antics…even when caught red-handed with their pants down. BUT, this is why they get over on cowardly RHINO’s and the uninformed public. “
“Sounds as if Cliton is starting to squirm a bit. Slim chance of a conviction when they rig the court to their favor.This court stand erect with two short legs up top, and two long legs and a long tail for a balancing act. Can you say kangaroo?”
Sources: Conservativebrief, Washingtonexaminer, Nationalreview
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