Hillary Clinton campaign associates refuse to cooperate with Special Counsel John Duram’s investigation and indicate their intent to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
The intent to take the Fifth came to light on Friday after reviewing a federal court filing by Durham.
Durham filed the motion to thwart defendant Michael Sussmann and the Clinton campaign’s attempt to withhold documents from evidence by asserting attorney-client privilege.
The case is complicated and involves many principles. Sussmann, a former federal prosecutor and key figure in the Clinton campaign is charged with providing false information to the FBI in 2016. Reportedly, Sussmann asserted there was a link between then-candidate Donald Trump and the Russian government.
Allegedly, Sussmann presented false or misleading information to the FBI and presented himself as a concerned citizen—not disclosing that he was working for the Clinton campaign.
The filing reveals that one witness, identified as “Researcher-2,” was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony.
Durham’s filing also indicates that “at least five other witnesses who conducted work relating to the Russian Bank-1 allegations invoked (or indicated their intent to invoke) their right against self-incrimination.”
Breitbart’s report notes legal scholar Jonathan Turley’s commentary on the filing:
[Durham] is now moving to give immunity to a key witness while revealing that the claims made by the Clinton campaign were viewed by the CIA as “not technically plausible” and “user created.”
He also revealed that at least five of the former Clinton campaign contractors/researchers have invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to cooperate in fear that they might incriminate themselves in criminal conduct.
Turley also noted that Durham’s filing “detailed how the false Russian collusion claims related to [Russia’s] Alfa Bank involved Clinton general counsel Marc Elias and Christopher Steele.”
Adding another layer of intrigue to the story, Steele is the former British spy reportedly contracted by Clinton operatives to conduct opposition research for the firm Fusion GPS.
Reportedly, that work intended to produce material for the famed “Russian dossier.” The dossier was filled with fraudulent information. It supported the “Russia collusion” conspiracy theory and facilitated the filing of FISA warrants and government surveillance of the Trump campaign.
A prominent election attorney for the Democrat party, Mark Elias, arranged funding for the “dossier” and later led efforts to adopt vote-by-mail policies in key battleground states before the 2020 presidential election.
Many Republicans assert that vote-by-mail policies can compromise election integrity.
Elias is widely believed to be the “Campaign Lawyer-1” noted in Durham’s motion.
Friday’s review of the motion indicates the government desires to introduce into evidence, communications between “Clinton Campaign leadership” and Elias, particularly communications referencing Alfa Bank.