Durham’s indictment of Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann offers hope that bigger fish may be reeled in

I am cautiously optimistic over the indictment handed down yesterday, accusing attorney Michael Sussman, then of Perkins Coie, representing the Hillary Clinton campaign, of lying to the FBI.  It has been very easy to despair that anything would ever come of Durham’s special counsel probe, especially after the slap on the wrist delivered to Kevin Clinesmith, an FBI lawyer who lied to a court by changing evidence 180 degrees in order to facilitate a FISA warrant extension.  For an officer of the court to lie to a court ought to be a career-ending event for, without integrity, the judicial system falters.  But Clinesmith never spent a night in jail and has been readmitted to the bar.  Durham asked for six months, but Judge James Boasberg thought otherwise.

Writers whom I respect, such as Don Surber and John Hinderaker, make me look Pollyanna-ish.  Surber: “I am unexcited because none of the co-conspirators — Hillary, Obama, Comey, and the media — were indicted.”  Hinderaker: “Durham harvests more small potatoes.”

But what gives me hope is the possibility of conspiracy charges developing.  The statute of limitations on lying to the FBI was about to expire, so Durham’s team had to indict now, even before other evidence might be ready to indict others or bring other charges against Sussman.  Retired FBI special agent Mark Wauck, who has graciously given me permission to quote his work beyond fair use limits, is optimistic:

John Durham’s indictment of Michael Sussmann has been a long time coming, but it doesn’t disappoint. The indictment is 27 terse pages long, dense with documentation of legal services billing and communications regarding technical internet matters. Nevertheless it sketches out the overall shape of a conspiracy in which Sussmann played a central coordinating role, but in which other top Dem operatives figure prominently. For now analysis is focusing on the document itself—it charges Sussmann with a single count of making a false statement to the federal government—but attention will quickly shift to speculation about who else is implicated.

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