Special Counsel John Durham recently issued a new round of subpoenas relating to his two-year inquiry into the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, CNN reports.
The new subpoenas follow Durham’s charging former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann with lying to federal investigators at a meeting in September 2016, in which he gave FBI agents data that he claimed showed a link between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank in Russia.
These subpoenas seek documents from Sussmann’s former law firm, Perkins Coie, which represented both the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee at the time. The firm also hired the research company that hired former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele on behalf of the Clinton campaign.
A lawyer for Perkins Coie declined to comment to CNN. In a statement, Sussman’s legal team characterized its client’s indictment as a political smear.
Former prosecutor Ken White, now a Los Angeles-based white-collar defense attorney, questioned Durham’s use of a speaking indictment, a longer, more detailed indictment that includes allegations about the suspected political motivations and alleged conduct of people who have not been charged.
“There are two ways to take it: The way charitable and favorable to Durham is this is basically making a case for this being material,” he said. “The less charitable interpretation is, this is Durham doing what he’s going to do, basically making his pitch for [former President Donald] Trump as a victim.”
