White House declines to comment on Durham allegations, refers Fox News to DOJ
Psaki points all questions about Durham, Clinton and campaign espionage to Justice Department
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly dodged questions regarding the ongoing Durham investigation, which in a new filing alleges that a group of researchers with ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign monitored web activity of Donald Trump looking for ties to Russia and passed their findings to the CIA.
Fox News twice pressed Psaki for comment from the White House regarding the new Durham filing.
"Durham says there was an outside company with ties to the Clinton camp monitoring server data info on the executive office of the president through the Obama administration, possibly into the Trump administration," Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Psaki. "Do you know if there's still a system picking up server data on the EOP and if not, when it stopped?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DURHAM TARGETS CLINTON CAMPAIGN LAW FIRM IN FRESH ROUND OF SUBPOENAS
"Again, I know you asked my colleague a few questions about this the other day," Psaki replied. "But I would point any questions about this to the Department of Justice."
Special Counsel John Durham ( Bob MacDonnell/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Heinrich pressed further, asking for comment on claims of monitoring internet traffic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And then is what was described in the filing," Heinrich asked. "They're monitoring Internet traffic, is that generally speaking – would that be considered something along the lines of spying?"
Psaki once again dismissed the question, replying, "Again, I would point you to the Department of Justice."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A lawyer for the Clinton campaign used research from a technology company that mined web traffic from servers belonging to Trump Tower, and later the White House, in order to establish an "inference" and "narrative" to bring to government agencies linking Donald Trump to Russia, a filing from Special Counsel John Durham alleges.
Hillary Clinton (MSNBC)
Durham filed a motion on Feb. 11 focused on potential conflicts of interest related to the representation of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who has been charged with making a false statement to a federal agent. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty.
Press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a briefing at the White House on Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Durham's filing on Feb. 11, in a section titled "Factual Background," reveals that Sussmann "had assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two specific clients, including a technology executive (Tech Executive 1) at a U.S.-based internet company (Internet Company 1) and the Clinton campaign."
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.