White House press secretary Jen Psaki directed a question about the Durham report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, marking a continuation in the administration’s unwillingness to discuss the report.
“[Special Counsel John] Durham says there was an outside company with ties to the Clinton camp monitoring server data info on the executive office of the President through the Obama administration, possibly into the Trump administration,” Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Psaki during Wednesday’s press briefing. “Do you know if there’s still a system picking up server data on the EOP, and if not, when it stopped?”
Psaki highlighted how the network had asked about the Durham investigation Monday when White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was at the podium. Psaki pointed “any questions about this” to the DOJ, as Jean-Pierre had done earlier in the week.
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Heinrich followed up by asking if “what was described in the filing” regarding “monitoring internet traffic … considered along the lines of spying.”
Psaki again pointed Fox News “to the Department of Justice.”
Special Counsel John Durham released a report Friday accusing Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann – who has ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign – of lying during a 2016 meeting with the FBI surrounding alleged links between the Trump organization and Russia.
“The Indictment alleges that the defendant lied in that meeting, falsely stating to the General Counsel that he was not providing the allegations to the FBI on behalf of any client,” the court filing reads. “In fact, the defendant had assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two specific clients, including (i) a technology executive (“Tech Executive-1”) at a U.S.-based Internet company (“Internet Company- 1”), and (ii) the Clinton Campaign.”
Sussmann has denied wrongdoing, The Hill reported. Records of Sussmann’s billing history show he “repeatedly” charged the Clinton Campaign for work regarding the “Russian Bank-1” allegations, according to Durham.
“The defendant’s billing records reflect that the defendant repeatedly billed the Clinton Campaign for his work on the Russian Bank-1 allegations. In compiling and disseminating these allegations, the defendant and Tech Executive-1 also had met and communicated with another law partner at Law Firm-1 who was then serving as General Counsel to the Clinton Campaign (“Campaign Lawyer-1”),” the court filing reads.
Durham also alleges that Sussmann met with the CIA in 2017 and offered up computer data that purportedly sought to link Trump and Russia. The data, which hasn’t been backed up by evidence according to the prosecutor, was allegedly obtained by a tech executive who “exploited his arrangement … for the purpose of gathering derogatory information” about Trump, Durham said.
Heinrich pressed the administration on the Durham allegations Monday, asking multiple questions about the report. Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected the probe, directing Heinrich’s questions to the DOJ. (RELATED: ‘As Wrong As It Gets’: Rep. Jim Jordan Calls Out Liberal Media And Democrats For Denying That Trump Was Spied On)
“My answer is not going to change. I refer you to the Department of Justice,” Jean-Pierre said Monday as Heinrich continued to press. “I can’t speak to that from here.”