Durham Seeks to Keep Sussmann Case Alive: ‘The Defendant Was Disseminating Highly Explosive Allegations About a Then-Presidential Candidate’

https://lawandcrime.com ^ | 3/4/2022 | aaron keller

[bitt]

John Durham on Friday filed a 14-page opposition motion to attempts by indicted lawyer Michael A. Sussmann to have his case judicially dismissed prior to trial. In the document, Durham’s team of government lawyers argued that Sussmann’s alleged lie to the FBI was a material lie under federal law—and one which skewed the way the FBI handled the material Sussmann provided.

The Durham opposition noted that the judge “must assume the truth of the indictment’s factual allegations” for the purposes of deciding the defendant’s motion to dismiss at this stage of the proceedings.

“A pretrial motion to dismiss an indictment allows a district court to review the sufficiency of the government’s pleadings, but it is not a permissible vehicle for addressing the sufficiency of the government’s evidence,” Durham’s team wrote directly quoting case law (emphases ours, however).

Thus, the judge must look to whether the allegations on the indictment are enough to paint a rough sketch of the crime alleged — here, that’s lying to a federal officer.

As Law&Crime has previously detailed, Durham last September secured a single-count indictment against Sussmann, a high-profile Perkins Coie cybersecurity lawyer who previously worked for both the Hillary Clinton campaign and for the Democratic Party. The indictment accuses Sussmann of allegedly “mak[ing] a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement or representation” before an Executive Branch agency, namely, the General Counsel of the FBI (who at the time was James Baker). Durham claims Sussmann falsely told the FBI that the Trump Organization had a “secret communications channel” with Alfa Bank. The crime alleged is a purported violation of 18 U.S.C. §1001(a)(2). Sussmann has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

[stockpirate]

“In other words, the case has been dragged out for so many years the statute of limitations to charge anyone for a crime have been exceeded.”

Once an indictment is entered the statute of limitations is locked in, even if it is a sealed indictment.

[AndyJackson]

If Durham has to work to keep this case alive

There is an indictment. The defense attorney filed a motion to dismiss the case - which is standard procedure. Durham filed an opposition to that motion. This is just standard legal procedure that happens a dozen times a day in every court in the country.

[yesthatjallen]

"There is an indictment."

What do you not understand? How many years has it taken Durham to get to this single indictment which is now dragging out in a protracted fight? If it takes 2 or 3 years to indict Sussmann on charges he's fighting how many years do you estimate it will take Durham to indict each little guy before he gets to Comeny, Brennen, and Clinton?

Is this an investigation you see as successful?

[GOPJ]

9,500 attorneys work for the DOJ

ONLY ONE OUT OF THE 9,500 REPRESENTS THE INTERESTS OF HALF OF AMERICAN PEOPLE - THE HALF THAT CALL THEMSELVES CONSERVATIVES.

Thank YOU John Durham