Ex-Clinton Lawyer Moves to Introduce FBI Notes During Upcoming Trial

Michael Sussmann (C) arrives for a court hearing at a federal courthouse in Washington on April 27, 2022. Oliver Trey/The Epoch Times

Former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann is moving to introduce notes taken by an FBI agent during his upcoming trial, according to new court filings.

Sussmann has “multiple pages of handwritten notes” that were taken by an agent at the FBI headquarters on the investigation into the theory that former President Donald Trump’s business had a secret form of communication with a Russian bank, Special Counsel John Durham said in one of the filings.

Sussmann’s attorneys listed the notes on their proposed exhibit list, or the list of documents they want to be free to introduce during the trial.

The defendant also has notes taken by multiple Department of Justice officials at a March 6, 2017 briefing by the FBI for then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions on various investigations related to Trump, including the one concerning the bank claims, Durham’s team said.

The revelations were revealed in an objection to various items on Sussmann’s exhibit list, with prosecutors arguing that the court should force Sussmann’s lawyers to explain why they should be allowed to bring up the notes during the trial.

“The defendant has objected to the government’s admission of certain notes taken by FBI officials ... and the government has explained in detail its bases for admitting such notes. Accordingly, the defendant should similarly proffer a legal basis to admit the notes he seeks to offer at trial,” they said.

In a similar motion from Sussmann, representatives for the ex-Clinton lawyer said they have raised objections to the government’s proposed exhibit list but cannot identify all possible objections because they lack the knowledge of why Durham’s team wants to introduce each piece of evidence.

“For example, in many cases, it is impossible from the face of a document to determine whether the special counsel intends to offer it for the truth of statements in the document, or whether the document may be admissible for a non-hearsay purpose or fit within a hearsay exception. Mr. Sussmann accordingly reserves his right to object to any exhibit offered by the special counsel at trial. This includes the right to object to any hearsay statement that the special counsel offers for the truth of the matter asserted,” they said.

According to a partial copy of the list, prosecutors want to be able to use notes taken by former FBI official William Priestap and former FBI lawyer Trisha Anderson; records from the FBI and the CIA; and records from a slew of companies connected to the case, including Neustar.

Sussmann is due to go on trial on May 16.

He is accused of lying to the FBI when he told an FBI lawyer that he was bringing information about Trump on his own volition, not on behalf of a client.

At the time, Sussmann was representing the Clinton campaign and a technology executive named Rodney Joffe, who worked for Neustar at the time and hoped to secure a post in the government if Clinton won the 2016 election.

Trump ended up winning the election, but investigations into the Republican continued for years after he took office.