The Trump-era spy chief made a prediction on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures that Durham setting his focus on British ex-spy Christopher Steele's now-discredited anti-Trump dossier will serve as a turning point after critics piled on when the Sussmann trial ended in acquittal.
Sussmann was charged with lying to the FBI about whom he was representing when, in September 2016, he presented internet data that suggested a now-discredited link between Trump and Russia's Alfa-Bank. In particular, Sussmann was indicted on charges of concealing his clients — Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and “Tech Executive-1,” known to be former Neustar executive Rodney Joffe — from FBI general counsel James Baker. Sussmann denied lying to the FBI and pleaded not guilty.
This Alfa-Bank matter tied to the Clinton team may not have spurred the FBI's investigation into Trump's links to Russia, but the actions taken by some bureau officials over the course of that inquiry have come under increased scrutiny thanks to disclosures during the trial. Durham has one other active prosecution: a case against Igor Danchenko, a key source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele's anti-Trump dossier, who has pleaded not guilty to five counts of making false statements to the FBI about the information he provided to the former MI6 agent for his discredited dossier. That trial is slated to start in October in Virginia.