Sussmann-Durham trial: Who are they key players?
Former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman breaks down the faces to watch in the case against the former Clinton campaign lawyer.
Some of the mainstream media organizations that were obsessed with the Russiagate scandal have suddenly decided a trial at the center of the investigation's origins isn’t worth covering.
The trial of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann began May 16, as Special Counsel John Durham’s years-long investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe finally landed in court, but anyone who relies on ABC, NBC, CBS or MSNBC would have no idea.
Since May 15, the eve of the trial, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News and MSNBC all ignored the trial on air through Thursday evening, according to a search of transcripts.
John Durham and Michael Sussmann. (Perkins Coie)
SPECIAL COUNSEL JOHN DURHAM'S PROSECUTION OF MICHAEL SUSSMANN: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
CNN spent less than 10 minutes covering the trial from May 15 through Thursday, and didn’t mention it on air at all on Wednesday or Thursday as testimony intensified. None of CNN’s coverage has come during primetime.
Sussmann has been charged with making a false statement to the FBI when he told former FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016, less than two months before the presidential election, that he was not doing work "for any client" when he requested and attended a meeting where he presented "purported data and ‘white papers’ that allegedly demonstrated a covert communicates channel" between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has ties to the Kremlin.
Special Counsel John Durham’s team alleges Sussmann was, in fact, doing work for two clients: the Hillary Clinton campaign and a technology executive, Rodney Joffe. Following the meeting with Baker, Sussmann billed the Clinton campaign for his work.
Durham was tapped in 2019 by Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original investigation into the Trump campaign, which led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. The Sussmann trial is the first to emerge out of Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.
Mueller's investigation concluded there was no evidence of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election. Prior to Mueller declaring there was no proof of collusion, the mainstream media spent years hyping it up and painting Trump as being compromised by Russia.
The New York Post editorial board recently hypothesized why it feels most media is "ignoring" the Sussmann trial.
"If it had been Republicans doing it to a Democrat, the press would be losing its mind. Problem is, most media bought the Clinton-commissioned lies: The Washington Post and New York Times split a Pulitzer for their obsessive ‘news reporting’ that repeated the lies to the world," the Post’s editorial board wrote.
"It was the most successful disinformation campaign in living memory, and the liberal media were at best willing dupes in that success," the Post continued. "Maybe it’s not such a surprise they don’t much care to cover the trial that’s beginning to bring it all to light."
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Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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