Posted on 05/19/2022 5:09:09 AM PDT by janetjanet998
SarahNLynch of Reuters is live tweeting
James Baker will be back on the stand
The next round of multimillion dollar investigations that will go no where?
I can’t find any info coming out of the trial
Huge day too with Baker
Jeff Carlson
@themarketswork
The throttling I’m experiencing right now is nuts.
140K followers and a handful of likes after 10 minutes...Nope.
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
Court is in brief recess with Baker still on the stand describing his meeting with Sussmann on Sept. 19, 2016, after arranging it the night before in a text to his personal phone regarding something “time-sensitive (and sensitive).
In that Sunday night text before the Monday afternoon meeting at FBI HQ, Sussmann told Baker he was “not representing any clients” and wanted to convey information to “help the bureau
Baker said he agreed immediately to meet with Sussmann. “First of all, I know Michael and had high regard for him. I thought it seems urgent, I think I should try to meet with him as soon as possible
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
·
4m
Sussmann already had an FBI security badge that allowed him access to FBI HQ. Baker said he “had a vibrant national security practice that had contact with the FBI a lot.
Baker: “Michael started to explain why he was there, He said he was not appearing ... on behalf of any particular client and that he had information of concern regarding a surreptitious communication channel between Alfa Bank and some servers in the United States.”
Baker: Sussman made the statement right at the beginning. “It was part of his introduction to the meeting, ‘I’m not here on behalf of any particular client.’ I’m 100 percent confident that he said that
WOW
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
Judge Cooper has denied the request by prosecutors to remove Juror #5 from the panel because her daughter and Sussmann’s daughter are on the same crew team. #SussmannTrial
How in the world does that connection NOT come up in jury selection?
Jeff Carlson
@themarketswork
·
57s
Replying to
@themarketswork
Day two of Baker’s 2018 testimony:
“I had a jaundiced eye about everything, yes. I had skepticism about all this stuff. I was concerned about all of this. This whole situation was horrible, and it was novel and we were trying to figure out what to do, and it was highly unusual.”
Jake Gibson
@JakeBGibson
Former FBI official James Baker said in court he quickly briefed then FBI Director Comey and his Deputy Andy McCabe about allegations passed to him by Michael Sussmann.
Jake Gibson
@JakeBGibson
·
31m
Replying to
@JakeBGibson
Mr, Baker also confirmed that the FBI was already investigating alleged connections between the Trump organization and Russia before receiving information from Mr. Sussmann about a possible connection between the Republican presidential nominee and Alfa Bank.
It seemed to me of great urgency and great seriousness that I would want to make my bosses aware of this information,” said Mr. Baker. “I think they were quite concerned about it.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/JakeBGibson
https://twitter.com/AGoudsward/status/1527311539757232128
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker says he knew Sussmann had clients in Democratic Party, but believed the meeting was in a “different capacity.” Likens him to confidential human source.
Baker emphasizes a couple of times that FBI was already investigating possible Trump-Russia connections at time of meeting and was concerned about press reporting things that could affect that probe.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker says he discussed press issue with FBI leadership and they decided to ask Sussmann if he knew reporters so they could ask them to hold off on the story
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker testifies that FBI leadership had another meeting with NYT where they said they could not confirm that data they investigated showed secret communications between Trump Org and Alfa Bank
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker says FBI’s ultimate conclusion on Alfa Bank matter was there was “nothing there.”
Prosecutor Andrew DeFilippis shows Baker texts from Sussmann to Baker alerting him that he was hearing rumors about outlets that were about to publish Trump-Russia stories in late-September 2016.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Jury now getting shown a photo Sussmann sent Baker of protesters outside Perkins Coie office after it became public that the two had met about Trump-Russia allegations in 2016.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker also says he felt he had “dragged Michael into a maelstrom” by mentioning meeting with Sussmann in House interview.
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
Prosector Andrew DeFilippis still questioning Baker. Testimony has spanned two September 2016 meetings with New York Times’ Eric Lichtblau and 2018 interviews before congressional committees that, he said, “sucked on multiple levels.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker now sounding a bit upset as he recounts experience of testifying about Trump-Russia investigation before Congress. “It sucked,” he said calling the behavior of members of Congress “appalling.”
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
DeFilippis now trying to head off defense attacks on Baker’s credibility. Baker had told Congress he “couldn’t recall” whether he was aware Sussmann was representing DNC at time.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
·
9s
Replying to
@AGoudsward
Baker says he hadn’t prepared for questions about Sussmann meeting for the House interview and hadn’t refreshed his memory about it. Alfa Bank was a “dead end” he says and by 2018 he sort of forgot about it.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
·
1m
Replying to
@AGoudsward
And with that we break for lunch. Baker’s testimony resumes in a little over an hour.
Solomon latest
Ex-FBI top lawyer Baker confirms Sussmann said in meeting he was not there on client’s behalf
former FBI General Counsel James Baker testified in court Thursday that 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann told him he was not representing any client when he brought him allegations of a secret Kremlin communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank
Baker quickly briefed then-Assistant Director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division Bill Priestap about the meeting with Sussmann.
Priestap wrote in his notes of the call with Baker that Sussmann was a lawyer for the Democratic National Committee but not giving the information on behalf of any client. Priestap also noted that a news story would with days be published about the allegation and another would be published in three to four weeks.
Then-FBI Principal Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson also had in her notes from Baker’s meeting with his deputies that Sussmann gave the information not on behalf of a client
Baker protected Sussmann’s name when FBI agents took the evidence since he viewed him as a source. However, if Sussmann had come on behalf of a client, Baker said he wouldn’t have protected Sussmann’s name, just the client. Baker believed Sussmann was bringing this information as a good citizen.
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
Baker is back on the stand, still on direct examination, reveals that he met Rodney Joffe and Sussmann previously while Baker was FBI GC because Joffe’s company Neustar had concerns about an FBI contract. In that meeting, Sussmann was clear he had client, Baker says.
Sussmann also texted Baker a January 2019 Trump tweet in which Trump attacked their meeting.
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
DeFilippis is querying Baker about the relationship they sustained in ensuing years after their Sept. 19, 2016 meeting, including Sussmann lobbying for his Perkins Coie law firm to hire Baker
John Haughey
@JFHaughey58
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1m
Replying to
@JFHaughey58
There are reams of their texts entered as evidence, including a July 2019 lunch. “I think we probably talked about the Alfa Bank in general and the articles that were continuing to come out. I don’t think we specifically talked about the meeting of Sept. 19, 2016.
Boom!
Andrew Goudsward
@AGoudsward
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1m
Replying to
@AGoudsward
Baker testifies that knowing whether or not Sussmann had client was important to him to assess its reliability of information. He says he would not have taken the meeting if Sussmann said he was working on behalf of Clinton camp
“I was willing to meet with Michael alone because I had high confidence in him and trust,” Baker says. “I think I would have made a different assessment if he said he had been appearing on behalf of a client.”
Evan Pérez
@evanperez
Baker says Clinton email was still open, which would make him cautious. Also says knowing political connection would have made him judge reliability of info differently. Says he would have been aware of and wary that the FBI was being played. This is central to Durham’s case.
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