Legislative Blog

J.B. Williams, J.D.

Alfa Bank Allegations and Conclusions

A Blog about Durham Report

A Bit of Background

The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Other and more specifically Durham Report as it relates to that topic.

Brief Summary of Other

Topics here may be related to legal matters but not innately legal. For instance, discussing grocery plastic bags versus cotton cloth bags. The item itself is not legal but many city governments have placed it into legislation.

Summary of Durham Report

The Durham report is the attempt to review what occurred during Crossfire Hurricane. It shows major fails on the part of the FBI to remain non-political and significantly harms their reputation. It makes Watergate look like child's play, even if taken in a light most favorable to the FBI.

Blog Summary

As former Attorney General Levi warned, 'Nothing can weaken the quality of life or more peril the realization of the goals we all hold dear than our failure to make clear by words and deeds that our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose.'

Alfa Bank Allegations and Conclusions

Published: 2023-09-06

Alfa Bank allegations

Sussman worked at Perkins Coie and was representing the Clinton campaign. This was evidenced by firm's billing records and internal communications, as well as other things. Sussman also represented a technology executive named Rodney Joffee. This was confirmed through written communications, Sussmann's congressional testimony, and other records.

Sussman, along with Fusion GPS (the Clinton campaign's opposition research firm), provided the same information he would provide to the FBI/CIA to various news organizations. Sussman was pressing reporters to write articles about the alleged secret communications channel. Then Sussmann provided the FBI with thumb drives and white papers claiming they showed a connection between the Trump campaign and Alfa Bank. Cyber experts from the FBI examined the materials and concluded they did not show what Sussman claimed they did. Sussman later provided the information to the CIA, and it to concluded that the materials did not show what Sussman claimed.

Joffe had tasked computer technology researchers at companies he was affiliated with to mine internet data to establish an inference and narrative that tied Trump to Russia. Joffe even said he was offered a top cybersecurity job by the Democrats when they win the election.

Conclusions

'The Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities.' Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith committed a 'criminal offense by fabricating language in an email that was material' to obtaining the FISA surveillance order. (FYI Kevin Clinesmith plead guilty to making a false statement and was sentenced to 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service. The Washington D.C. bar did not disbar him, and instead lists him as an active member in good standing. They did apparently suspend him from practicing for 1 year. This is why people do not trust lawyers, and why there are calls saying they should not be policing their own. He was admitted on November 2008.) There was a cavalier attitude toward accuracy and completeness to say the least. Important requirements were disregarded when seeking FISA surveillance renewals, even acknowledging both then and later that they did not genuinely believe there was probably cause for the orders. Throughout there was a serious lack of analytical rigor regarding information that was received; and significant and potentially contrary intelligence was ignored.

Not only was there apparent lack of analytical rigor, but apparent confirmation bias and an over-willingness to rely on information provided by individuals connected to political opponents. There was a lack of objectivity or restraint in pursing allegations of collusion and conspiracy. Ultimately meeting responsibilities comes down to the integrity of the people taking the oath to follow the guidelines and policies in place. Sadly, at least in my opinion, all of those at the top of this investigation failed to have any integrity at all. Few below them pushed back at all. I agree that new rules and regulations won't solve the issue if those taking the oath to follow them lack the integrity of follow through. Some will say that this was a tough thing to do when all of you believes the opposite is true. But I say that is the very time when following the rules is the right thing to do. It shows you have integrity, and it is the tough times for which those very rules are written. Sadly, we as a society, have gotten to the point that when things are difficult you must forgive everyone for not following the rules or for what they have done - unless, of course, the press says otherwise. When it becomes difficult to follow the rules of your profession, look to the rules and follow them. I'm not saying to follow blindly but work within the rules to see if they need to be modified or if you just want to be contrary because you personally don't agree. And when you cannot follow those rules, quit. This goes for so many more professions than the FBI and the DOJ. If all of a sudden, you don't like the rules of your profession, but in the past followed them and loved them, then quit. For instance, post COVID19 vaccines, I saw many medical professionals stating they didn't feel they should have to treat patients that did not get the vaccine if they tested positive for COVID19 because they had not done all they could to prevent getting ill. There are so many other illnesses where one could say the same. Hell for that matter general health could be viewed often in that light. I say if you've reached that state and cannot move past it, then you need to quit. It is time to do something else in life, something that will not negatively affect the very individuals you were wanting to assist. I personally stopped taking CPS cases when I 'grew tired' of excuses for parental behavior and an unwillingness to truly fight for their children. There are times when your 'help' will be less useful.

The following referrals where made to other entities regarding potential prosecution or further investigation:
1. FBI's Washington field office regarding an existing counterintelligence investigation
2. Office of Intelligence regarding the accuracy of information contained in four non-Page FISA applications
3. Inspector General of the Department of Defense, copy to General Counsel of the Defense Intelligence Agency, regarding several matters. One involved a contract between DARPA and Georgian Institute of Technology. Another involved 2 former employees of the Department of Defense and their irregular conduct.
4. FBI's OGS and Inspection Division regarding an agent that failed to properly document the known history of Danchenko that he knew upon opening him as an FBI CHS.
5. FBI's OG and Inspection Division of the same agent for questionable instructions to Danchenko regarding the taxability of cash payments made to him by the FBI

'The objective facts show that the FBI's handling of important aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane matter were seriously deficient.' There were clear opportunities to have avoided mistakes and prevent the damage that resulted. In 2020, 19 of the 29 applications were provided for review. The 19 applications were directed at counterterrorism targets. After review several changes were directed to be made to the FBI process. During a prior issue of counterintelligence a systemic problem was brought out. An individual named Hanssen worked in the FBI counterintelligence program for more than 20 years, betraying the US to the KGB. The entire time the FBI was focused on the CIA, thinking they had a suspect working for them. 'The FBI should have seriously questioned its conclusion that the CIA suspect was a KGB spy and considered opening a different line of investigation. The squad responsible for the case, however, was so committed to the belief that the CIA suspect was a mole that it lost a measure of objectivity... While FBI management pressed for the investigation to be completed, it did not question the factual premises underlying it.' The same can be said with Crossfire Hurricane. They poorly analyzed critical pieces of information, overly relied on incomplete human intelligence that was later found plainly unreliable. Then in September 2016, the Crossfire Hurricane team was 'exploited' by the Steele report with no verification of its sensational allegations. No one questioned held assumptions, and information was withheld from OI attorneys. Regardless of any changes that could be made, 'absent continual reinforcement by FBI leadership of the need for integrity, accuracy, and objectivity in following these requirements', improvements in handling situations is uncertain. But even Strzok stated the 'there is nothing to this, but we have to run it to ground.' The FBI choose to not use a less intrusive collection technique, instead placing First Amendment rights at stake. A new rule now requires an Attorney General to approve of a full investigation into similar matters. Due to questionable activity in not providing defensive briefings to the Trump campaign, the FBI now has a board to address defensive briefings. The FBI should avoid using media reports in FISA applications. And they should provide appropriate attention to facts that cut against probable cause in FISA applications. They also must begin the renewal process with the attorneys approximately 45 days before expiration. While the OIG review did not find political bias, they did find possible impact of 'confirmation bias'. This is the common human tendency to accept information and evidence that is consistent with what they believe to be true and ignore information that challenges those beliefs. The Office noted the following: 'even before the opening of Crossfire Hurricane, some of those most directly involved in the subsequent investigation had (i) expressed their open disdain for Trump, (ii) asked about when they would open an investigation on Trump, and (iii) asserted that they would prevent Trump from becoming President.'

The following is a list provided verbatim from the Durham report regarding some major issues that were found during the investigation.

• 'The Australian diplomats told Crossfire Hurricane investigators that Papadopoulos never stated that he had any direct contact with the Russians nor did he provide any explicit information about an offer of assistance.
• There was a complete lack of information from the Intelligence Community that corroborated the hypothesis upon which the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was predicated.
• The FBI generally ignored the significant exculpatory information provided by Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and Trump Senior Foreign Policy Advisor-1 during recorded conversations with FBI CHSs.
• The FBI failed to pursue investigative leads that were inconsistent with their theory of the case (e.g. Page's recorded denials of having any relationship with Paul Manafort, a fact about which there was available evidence).
• The FBI failed to take Page up on the written offer he made to Director Comey to be interviewed about the allegations contained in Michael Isikoff's Yahoo! News article and instead opted to seek FISA surveillance of Page.
• The FBI was willing to make use of the completely unvetted and uncorroborated Steele reporting in multiple FISA applications targeting a U.S. citizen, even after the Crossfire Hurricane investigators had determined that there were major conflicts between the reporting of Steele and his primary sub-source, Igor Danchenko - conflicts the FBI incredibly failed to resolve.
• The Crossfire Hurricane investigators did not even ask Steele about his role in providing information to Michael Isikoff as contained in the the September 23, 2016 Yahoo! News article - information that essentially accused Carter Page of colluding with the Russians. And thereafter the same investigators demonstrated a willingness to contort the plain language of the article to suggest it was not Steele but Steele's employers who had given the information to Isikoff.
• The FBI ignored the fact that at no time before, during or after Crossfire Hurricane were investigators able to corroborate a single substantive allegation in the Steele dossier reporting.
• There was a complete failure on the part of the FBI to even examine - never mind resolve - the serious counterespionage issues surrounding Steele's primary sub-source, Igor Danchenko.
• The FBI leadership essentially disregarded the Clinton Plan intelligence, which it received at almost the exact same time as the Australian Paragraph Five information. This was despite the fact that at precisely the same time as the Clinton Plan intelligence was received (i) the Clinton campaign made public statements tying the DNC computer hack to Russian attempts to help Trump get elected, (ii) the FBI was receiving the Clinton campaign-funded Steele Reports, and (iii) the Clinton campaign-funded Alfa Bank allegations were being prepared for delivery to the media and the FBI.
• The Crossfire Hurricane investigators essentially ignored information they had received as early as October 2016 regarding Charles DOlan, a longtime Democratic operative with ties to the Clintons who also possessed significant ties to Russian government figures who would appear in the Steele Reporting, and never interviewed him.
• The Crossfire Hurricane investigators provided only partial, and in some instances, misleading, information to Department attorneys working on the Page FISA applications while withholding other highly relevant information from those attorneys and the FISC that might case real doubt on their probably cause assertions.'

Finally there were problems with FISA applications which points to bias and other factors. The 29 applications contained 209 errors, 4 of which were deemed material. And this is without even viewing information that may have been omitted. In the 4 Page applications there were 17 material errors and omissions. In a light most favorable to the Crossfire Hurricane team, confirmation bias played a significant role in acceptance of extraordinarily serious allegations derived from uncorroborated information that was not subjected to typical analysis. In short, the Office's assessment showed the FBI 'discounted or willfully ignored information that did not support the narrative of a collusive relationship between Trump and Russia. It has been proposed to create a non-partisan position for an FBI agent or lawyer that would challenge FISA applications and every other stage of investigations. As former Attorney General Levi warned, 'Nothing can weaken the quality of life or more peril the realization of the goals we all hold dear than our failure to make clear by words and deeds that our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose.'

 

J.B. Williams, J.D.

4,312 federal laws were passed from 1995 through December 2016.
Along with 88,819 federal rules and regulations.