Special counsel John Durham might not have intended to take his case against Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann to trial, a former federal prosecutor surmised on Sunday.
Former U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman said the trial, which begins in Washington, D.C., on Monday, bodes ill for Sussmann and will act as a set piece for the larger criminal inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Russia investigation.
"He’s facing up to five years in federal prison, and when you decide to go to trial, you also lose all of the benefits that the federal code has to offer for someone that’s cooperating with the government," Tolman said on Fox News."I’m not sure Durham expected that this would go to trial.
Brett Tolman, the executive director of the conservative group Right on Crime, said he believes Durham is"playing a chess game" and is"trying to set the scene for future cases." Durham has one other active prosecution: a case against the main source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele's anti-Trump dossier. Durham has obtained a single guilty plea, which came from former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to altering an email about a Trump campaign aide under government surveillance.
Asked if Durham has what he needs to go for more prosecutions moving forward, Tolman said,"I think he does have a lot of document evidence that I think can support it. But what he’s lacking are individuals coming forward that will resonate with the grand jury and with the jury when he tries a larger conspiracy case. And that’s what he needs. He needs individuals that were part of the conspiracy to cooperate.
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