Jury gets Danchenko case in what may be Durham's swan song - POLITICO

Durham personally handled the prosecution’s last statement to the jury, contending that his probe was a logical follow-up to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s decision that determination was nary prosecutable grounds of collusion betwixt Trump allies and Russia.

“Mr. Sears wants to enactment this connected Bill Barr. He wants to enactment this connected politicians,” Durham said, arsenic helium defended his sequel to Mueller’s probe. “You tin telephone that governmental [that investigators] spent sizeable clip distant from their household did that for a governmental crushed — if it’s your mindset, I conjecture that’s your mindset.”

Jurors deliberated for a small little than 4 hours Monday day without returning immoderate verdict. U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga excused them to instrumentality connected Tuesday morning.

The prosecution of Danchenko connected false-statement charges is the 3rd lawsuit brought by Durham’s team.

The first, against FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, netted a blameworthy plea from the lawyer for forging details successful an email related to a surveillance exertion during the aboriginal stages of the Trump-Russia probe. Clinesmith, who said helium altered the connection to prevention himself time, got nary jailhouse time.

Jurors successful Washington made abbreviated enactment of Durham’s 2nd outing, a single-count false-statement complaint against cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann for allegedly lying astir his lawsuit erstwhile relaying to the FBI suspicions astir machine links betwixt Trump and Russia. After a two-week trial, the assemblage took conscionable six hours to acquit Sussmann.

The lawsuit against Danchenko has already proved to beryllium hard for Durham and his team. At the decision of the prosecution lawsuit connected Friday, Trenga granted a defence question to propulsion retired 1 of the 5 false-statement charges the erstwhile deliberation vessel worker faced.

Durham charged Danchenko with lying to the FBI erstwhile helium said helium ne'er “talked” to nationalist relations enforcement Charles Dolan astir the compendium Trump’s governmental opponents paid erstwhile British quality serviceman Christopher Steele to compile astir Trump’s ties to Russia. Many of the stories successful the alleged Steele Dossier look to beryllium apocryphal and FBI unit who testified astatine the proceedings said they were incapable to corroborate immoderate of it.

While determination was impervious astatine the proceedings that Danchenko emailed with Dolan, determination was nary grounds the 2 men ever spoke astir the dossier. Durham’s squad alleged the assemblage could find the emails amounted to talking, but Trenga — an appointee of President George W. Bush — said it appeared Danchenko’s denial was virtually existent truthful the number had to beryllium thrown out.

Danchenko called nary witnesses and did not attest successful his ain defense. He has been escaped connected enslaved since soon aft his apprehension past November.

Whatever the verdict, 1 enactment near battered by the Danchenko lawsuit looks to beryllium the FBI, which was painted by some sides astatine times, arsenic incompetent successful its handling of the Trump-Russia probe.

One antithetic spectacle astatine the proceedings was the prosecution’s determination to telephone FBI witnesses, past situation their competence erstwhile they provided grounds utile to the defense.

“They attacked each witnesser they called here,” Sears told the jury. “That speaks volumes astir the peculiar counsel.”

Sears besides stressed that the FBI unit who dealt with Danchenko were convinced helium was telling them the truth. “It’s devastating for the government’s case. Devastating,” the defence lawyer said.

Durham was vague astir wherefore FBI agents moving connected the Mueller probe didn’t prosecute leads helium said they should have, specified arsenic by tracking down telephone and question records. Some FBI unit who testified said they wanted to unfastened an probe into Dolan, but were rebuffed by superiors.

“For immoderate reason, determination is simply a definite mindset that agents did not bash what they should person done,” Durham told the jurors, without elaborating. While repeatedly raising specified episodes, prosecutors insisted they were yet irrelevant to the lawsuit against Danchenko.

Defenders of the FBI probe person argued that, immoderate the disapproval of the bureau’s handling of the Steele dossier, that study was a comparatively tiny portion of the wide Trump-Russia investigation, which was good underway by the clip the dossier surfaced.

The remaining 4 charges against the Russian researcher each subordinate to his claims to the FBI that helium received an anonymous telephone telephone successful July 2016 from idiosyncratic who relayed allegations that aboriginal appeared successful the dossier. Danchenko said helium believed the caller was Sergei Millian, past the caput of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Prosecutors contend that Danchenko received nary specified telephone and helium fabricated the communicative aft coming nether unit to substantiate allegations helium had related to Steele which coiled up successful the dossier.

“There was nary telephone with Millian and determination was nary telephone with immoderate idiosyncratic and these telephone records beryllium that,” lawyer Michael Keilty said successful the prosecution’s archetypal closing statement. “It’s a not-to-be believed story....You didn’t cheque your communal consciousness astatine the courthouse door. You request to usage it.”

The defence said the telephone could person taken spot via a calling app and noted that Danchenko raised that anticipation successful 1 of his archetypal discussions with the FBI.

Prosecutors said helium produced nary grounds of specified a interaction with Millian, but Sears said Danchenko gave the FBI a batch of close accusation and the prosecution had to beryllium beyond a tenable uncertainty that his mentation was false.

“He doesn’t person to supply anything,” Sears said.

Jurors seemed keenly attentive during the closing arguments, which lasted astir two-and-a-half hours. Some took notes arsenic the attorneys laid retired their positions.

The assemblage sent lone 1 enactment to the tribunal Monday. Before the arguments, the assemblage asked astir redactions made to immoderate of the exhibits introduced during the case. Trenga told the assemblage they didn’t request to see wherefore the redactions were made. Some were agreed to by the parties, but others are the effect of deletions prosecutors made and Trenga approved successful bid to support classified information.