Durham probe has ‘accelerated,’ with more people ‘cooperating,’ coming before grand jury
Durham has run his investigation ‘very professionally,’ source tells Fox News Digital
Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation has “accelerated,” and more people are “cooperating” and coming before the federal grand jury than has previously been reported, a source familiar with the probe told Fox News.
The source told Fox News Monday that Durham has run his investigation “very professionally,” and, unlike Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, his activities, and witness information and cooperation status are rarely, if ever, leaked.
“Durham does this right and keeps it a secret,” the source said, adding that there has been “much more activity” in Durham’s investigation “than has been visible to the public.”
The closest look Durham has given with regard to grand jury witnesses came in a federal court filing last month, outlining materials that had been provided by the special counsel’s office to defense attorneys for former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann.
Sussmann has been charged making a false statement to a federal agent. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty.
Durham’s Jan. 25 filing tells the court that the special counsel’s office provided materials, including “transcripts of sworn grand jury testimony by the following witnesses” to Sussmann’s team.
Durham does not explicitly include the names of individuals who testified before the grand jury in the filing, but rather, their professional titles, or titles assigned to them by the special counsel’s office.
Durham lists a number of individuals, including “the above-referenced former FBI General Counsel,” which could be a reference to James Baker, who served as FBI general counsel from January 2014 until May 2018. Fox News reported in October that Durham had plans to call Baker to testify in the case against Sussmann.
The indictment against Sussmann, says he told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016, less than two months before the 2016 presidential election, that he was not doing work “for any client” when he requested and held a meeting in which he presented “purported data and ‘white papers’ that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel” between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has ties to the Kremlin.
Durham’s Feb. 11 filing says that the “FBI General Counsel” will “likely be a central witness at trial.”
Baker did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Durham also provided grand jury testimony from “the above-referenced former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence.” It is unclear to which official Durham is referring, but the title could be a reference to Bill Priestap, who served as the FBI’s assistant director for counterintelligence from 2015 to 2018.
Durham also lists “a former FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence.” It is unclear to whom Durham is referring.
Peter Strzok served as a deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Three sources familiar with the FBI’s structure told Fox News there could be as many as three individuals serving in the deputy assistant director of counterintelligence role at a time.
Strzok, who was part of the original FBI investigation into whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, and later in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office, was fired from the FBI in 2018 after months of scrutiny regarding anti-Trump text messages exchanged with former FBI General Counsel Lisa Page. Their anti-Trump text messages were uncovered by the Justice Department inspector general.
Fox News was unable to reach Strzok for comment.
Durham, in the filing, also lists testimony from “the attorney previously employed by Law Firm-1 who is referred to in the Indictment as ‘Campaign Lawyer-1.’” It is unclear to whom Durham is referring.
However, in a separate Durham filing on Feb. 11, the special counsel states that “Campaign Lawyer-1” was “serving as General Counsel to the Clinton Campaign.” Three sources told Fox News that individual is Marc Elias, who served as general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and worked at the law firm Perkins Coie.
Elias’ law firm, Perkins Coie, is the firm that the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign funded the anti-Trump dossier through. The unverified dossier was authored by ex-British Intelligence agent Christopher Steele and commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
A spokesperson for Elias did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.