Key witness testifies in trial connected to Trump-Russia probe
>> The star prosecution witness in the trial of a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer testified Thursday that he was “100 percent confident” that the attorney told him he was not acting on behalf of a particular client when he presented information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and possible links to Russia.
The lawyer, Michael Sussmann, is accused of lying to the FBI about the fact that he was representing Clinton's 2016 campaign interests and that of another client — although the campaign says it never authorized Sussmann to meet with the bureau. The case is part of an ongoing special counsel investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.
Sussmann's lawyers deny he lied and sought Thursday to undermine the testimony of the government's key witness, James Baker, by suggesting his memory of the September 2016 meeting with Sussmann was foggy and that his accounts of it had shifted over time.
Baker was the FBI's general counsel in September 2016 when Sussmann, a friend who did legal work for the Clinton campaign, scheduled a meeting to give him computer data that Sussmann said showed a potential secret communications channel between a Russia-based bank and the Trump Organization, the company of the then-candidate.
Sussmann is accused of lying to Baker during that meeting by saying he was not presenting the computer data on behalf of a particular client. In fact, prosecutors allege, he was representing the interests during that meeting of the Clinton campaign and another client, a technology executive who had provided him with the data.
Prosecutors allege Sussmann was not forthcoming about his Clinton ties because he figured the FBI would consider the information less credible if it thought it was being presented with a partisan intent.
The Sussmann prosecution was brought by John Durham, the prosecutor appointed as special counsel during the Trump administration to investigate wrongdoing by government officials during the early days of the investigation into Russian election interference and potential ties with the Trump campaign.
An acquittal could fuel criticism about the Durham probe's purpose while a guilty verdict would likely energize Trump supporters who have long looked to Durham to expose what they see as biased treatment of the former president.
Defense lawyers deny Sussmann lied and have suggested to jurors that it's impossible to be sure exactly what he said because only Baker and Sussmann were in the meeting and neither of them took notes.
During cross-examination, Sussmann lawyer Sean Berkowitz presented Baker with his own prior statements about the meeting in which he appeared less certain about what was said, or gave different descriptions than what he said Thursday.
“Memories are a difficult thing, are they not, sir?” Berkowitz asked at one point.
During an October 2018 interview with lawmakers, for instance, Baker was asked whether he was aware during the meeting that Sussmann was representing the Clinton campaign at the time. He responded: “I don't recall, I don't recall him specifically saying that at that time.”