The FBI is in the midst of an internal review to suss out any possible misconduct related to the Trump-Russia probe, Curtis Heide, a supervisory agent, said Tuesday.
Heide testified Tuesday in special counsel John Durham’s trial against former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann. Heide said on the stand that a slew of FBI agents are being looked into for the review, CNN reported.
Heide revealed the investigation also extends to him, and that he’s being probed regarding an allegation that he withheld information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The FBI agent maintained that he didn’t withhold “exculpatory information” on purpose, CNN reported.
The information Heide allegedly withheld was a “recording from one of the [FISA application] subjects,” he told the court. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court looks over surveillance and other investigative requests relating to foreign intelligence.
Attorney Michael Sussmann departs the U.S. Federal Courthouse after opening arguments in his trial, where Special Counsel John Durham is prosecuting Sussmann on charges that he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while providing information about possible and later discredited allegations of communications between the 2016 presidential campaign of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia, in Washington, U.S. May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
Sussmann was charged by Durham in 2021 with lying to the FBI during a 2016 meeting, and Heide was one of the FBI agents involved in the bureau’s investigation of Sussmann’s tip.
Other FBI agents have taken the stand in the trial, with former FBI general counsel James Baker testifying earlier in May that he is “100% confident” Sussmann told him the tip he provided was not on behalf of any campaign or client. (RELATED: ‘As Wrong As It Gets’: Rep. Jim Jordan Calls Out Liberal Media And Democrats For Denying That Trump Was
Durham has accused Sussmann of providing the tip to the FBI while keeping secret his connection to Clinton’s campaign, CNN previously reported. Early on in the trial, Durham’s team laid out the argument that Sussmann tried to “create an October surprise on the eve of the presidential election,” according to Law and Crime.