Day 1 of the Michael Sussmann Trial
Techno Fog
May 17
It started with disclosure by Special Counsel DeFilippis informing the Court that government witness Dr. Manos Antonakakis (identified as Researcher-1 in the Sussmann indictment) “has decided to invoke his Fifth Amendment right.” He would not be called to the stand. More background on Manos here.
From there it was time for opening statements.
Special Counsel Brittain Shaw made clear that this case is “about privilege:
the privilege of a well-connected D.C. lawyer with access to the highest levels
of the FBI; the privilege of a lawyer who thought that he could lie to the FBI
without consequences.” Using that privilege, Sussmann:
“went straight to the FBI general counsel's office, the FBI's top lawyer. He then sat across from that lawyer and lied to him. He told a lie that was designed to achieve a political end, a lie that was designed to inject the FBI into a presidential election.”
The attorney for Sussmann, in their opening, argued there was no lie.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Martin.
FBI Special Agent Scott Hellman
Testimony of Steve DeJong (Neustar)
With that, the first day concluded. After the jury was dismissed, there was a brief discussion about whether Robby Mook can be called by Sussmann for testimony on Friday so that Mook can go on a Spanish holiday.
Day 2 of the Michael Sussmann TrialMay 18
Here are the rulings of note:
1. Robby Mook, who has a scheduled vacation in Spain, will testify on Friday. He’s a defense witness.
2. Evidence of Steele’s meetings with Sussmann and Fusion GPS in July 2016, and his tasking to conduct research on Alfa Bank, according to the judge, “can come in.” The judge observed they are “relevant to Mr. Sussmann’s activities for the campaign and his attorney-client relationship, as far as it went, with the campaign as it relates to Alfa-Bank.”
Onto the witnesses. We start with the short testimony of Deborah Fine.
Testimony of Laura Seago
Now we get to Marc Elias.
Cross Examination of Marc Elias.
After the witness and jury left, the Special Counsel informed the court that the next witnesses after Baker would be Bill Priestap, Trish Anderson, and Special Agent Gaynor.
Day 3 of the Sussmann trial - Baker testifies
May 20, 2022
Today, it’s the morning testimony of former FBI general counsel James Baker.
May 20, 2022 | Sundance
Former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook was called as a prosecution witness in the trial against Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann today. During his appearance Mook was questioned about the fraudulent Alfa-Bank story that lies at the center of the prosecution against Sussmann.
Robby Mook testified he had no idea who Sussmann was or what he was doing. However, Mook also stated he learned of the Alfa-Bank research during a meeting in 2016 and took it to Hillary Clinton, who then told him to share it with media.
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