Durham Responds to Sussmann Motion: Never 'Sought to Politicize This Case'

Special counsel John Durham fired back Thursday at attorneys for Michael Sussmann, defending the work of his investigation and making a motion to reject the defendant's request to strike six paragraphs from the Feb. 11 court filing.

''As an initial matter, defense counsel has presumed the government's bad faith and asserts that the Special Counsel's Office intentionally sought to politicize this case, inflame media coverage, and taint the jury pool,'' Durham's filing Thursday read. ''That is simply not true.

''If third parties or members of the media have overstated, understated, or otherwise misinterpreted facts contained in the government's motion, that does not in any way undermine the valid reasons for the government's inclusion of this information,'' Durham's latest filing added.

Sussmann's attorneys had made a motion to strike six paragraphs from the government's Feb. 11 motion to inquire into potential conflicts of interest. It was that document that revived the controversy of Sussmann allegedly working with Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and using information from a government contractor who has been identified as internet data analyst Rodney Joffe.

Joffe allegedly had access to ''DNS traffic data'' between computers or cellphones from Trump Tower, Donald Trump's Central Park West apartment building, and the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

''There is no basis to strike any portion of the government's motion,'' Durham's Thursday filing continued. ''Indeed, the government intends to file motions in limine in which it will further discuss these and other pertinent facts to explain why they constitute relevant and admissible evidence at trial.

''Pursuant to caselaw and common practice in this and other districts, the filing of documents containing reference to such evidence on the public docket is appropriate and proper, even in high-profile cases where the potential exists that such facts could garner media attention.''

Sussmann's attorneys also argued the Feb. 11 filing might taint the jury pool, but Durham's latest filing rebutted that claim, too.

''Moreover, any potential prejudice or jury taint arising from such media attention can effectively and appropriately be addressed through the voir dire process during jury selection,'' Thursday's filing read.

• Hillary Finally Reacts to Durham Probe Spying Reports: 'Nonsense'
• Jake Sullivan's Credibility Shot After Russia Hoax Revelations