Judge gives mixed decision on evidence on Clinton campaign Russia collusion scam

 Washington Examiner:

A federal judge placed limits on special counsel John Durham’s evidence in court meant to demonstrate a “joint venture” involving Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign to discredit rival Donald Trump with Russia collusion claims.

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“The government contends that the Alfa Bank data was gathered as part of a concerted effort to collect and disseminate derogatory opposition research about Donald Trump,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote in the 24-page ruling, adding that participants in the “purported joint undertaking” included Sussmann, the Clinton campaign, Clinton campaign general counsel and Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, Joffe, and several computer researchers working at Joffe’s direction.

“The Court will exercise its discretion not to engage in the kind of extensive evidentiary analysis that would be required to find that such a joint venture existed, and who may have joined it, in order to admit these emails,” the judge ruled, “For starters, Mr. Sussmann is not charged with a conspiracy.”

“Moreover, while the Special Counsel has proffered some evidence of a collective effort to disseminate the purported link between Trump and Alfa Bank to the press and others, the contours of this venture and its participants are not entirely obvious,” the judge claimed. “The Court is particularly skeptical that the researchers — who were not employed by Mr. Joffe, Fusion GPS, or the Clinton Campaign, and most of whom never communicated with Mr. Sussmann — shared in this common goal.”

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I think it was pretty clear that the scheme was to use false allegations to smear Trump for political purposes, and the Judge should let Durham offer proof of that scheme. Sussmann is accused of playing a key role in spreading that misinformation to the FBI, DOJ, and others.