The trial of former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann will take place soon, and on Wednesday, special counsel John Durham scored a huge pre-trial victory.
Sussmann’s lawyers fought Durham’s efforts to secure documents from the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign that they claimed were protected by attorney-client privilege. Durham argued that the Clinton campaign couldn’t shield materials based on attorney-client privilege when the materials they were trying to hide were widely distributed to third parties.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. agreed with Durham and has decided to compel the production of the documents in question.
UPDATE – Durham won the first part of the fight.
Durham's motion to compel has been granted.
"Privileged" Fusion GPS e-mails/docs will be provided to the court for in camera review.
The court will then determine whether the "privileges" apply. (Durham will get the docs.) https://t.co/sPmR8Qackg pic.twitter.com/PZTXlpVEqx
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) May 4, 2022
Durham had accused the Democratic National Committee, Hillary for America, and Fusion GPS of withholding and/or redacting documents and communications that incriminate Sussmann.
Related: Durham May Have Enough to Pursue Conspiracy Charges in Russiagate Investigation
Durham’s filing said this decision was made “based on an apparent theory that political opposition research and/or public relations work … falls within the legitimate scope of attorney-client privilege and work-product protections.”
“They have done so despite the fact that almost all of these materials appear to lack any connection to actual or expected litigation or the provision of legal advice,” the filing continued.
Sussmann’s lawyers were previously successful in preventing a tweet by Hillary Clinton from being admitted in trial.
Sussmann is accused of making a false statement to the FBI on Sept. 19, 2016, by telling agents he wasn’t representing any client when he presented evidence to them alleging a link between Donald Trump and Russian bank Alfa-Bank — a connection which turned out to be completely bogus. Sussmann was, in fact, employed by the Hillary Clinton campaign at the time. His trial is expected to take place this month.
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