Welcome to my e-newsletter, the Ready Room. As a retired Naval Aviator, the Ready Room is special to me because it’s where fellow aviators meet to brief and debrief missions. This is my weekly briefing to you on my mission in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and YouTube for regular updates on how my team and I are working to serve you in Congress.
Responding to the State of the Union
Congressman Franklin in the Cannon House Office Building
Last Tuesday, I attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address. While President Biden was quick to point to his alleged successes, the American people know better. Under his watch, American families are struggling with the highest inflation in 40 years, gas prices are skyrocketing, drugs are pouring into our open border, violent crime is up in our communities, and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened our adversaries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
While these are serious challenges our nation is facing, I have faith that we can restore a brighter future. Florida has led the way with sound, conservative solutions that respect our freedoms as Americans. If our federal government followed suit, we would be in a much better place. As we Floridians like to say, it’s time to Make America Florida. Click here to read my full statement.
Missed Opportunity to Help Veterans
Many veterans who deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan were exposed to toxic fumes emanating from burn pits. This exposure has caused severe health complications. Last month, the Senate unanimously passed S. 3541 , a bill to provide resources to help burn pit victims. The House should have passed this bill, but unfortunately, we had to vote on an overly broad bill that would extend benefits to many veterans who were never exposed. I know this to be a fact, because under the House bill’s criteria, I would be eligible for these benefits, even though I was never near a burn pit during my Navy career. We have a duty to care for our veterans, especially those who have been injured, and I will always stand up for my fellow veterans. But we must also ensure our VA system isn’t prevented from helping those in need because it is overwhelmed with cases that don’t truly belong in the system. That’s why I voted against the House version of the bill. Congress must resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills so veterans exposed to burn pits will finally receive the care they need and deserve.
Want a Flag Flown Over the US Capitol?
Did you know that flags may be purchased through our office and flown over the U.S. Capitol to honor a special event or commemoration? All flag purchases include a dedication message, which may be personalized for a particular person, event, or organization. For more information, click here.
Constituent Corner
Daniel is an active-duty U.S. Air Force member stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. While assigned there, his wife gave birth to their daughter. After obtaining her Consular Record of Birth Abroad (CRBA), they unsuccessfully tried to obtain her Social Security Number and Card. After reaching out to our office, my staff helped Daniel get what he needed. If you need assistance with a federal agency, please call our Lakeland office at (863) 644-8215 or visit my website at franklin.house.gov.
I’m honored to represent you in Congress. For more information on constituent services, current legislation and to sign up for my e-newsletter, please visit my website at franklin.house.gov .
With government funding slated to run out this past Friday, the House and Senate scrambled to pass a bill to keep the lights on and avoid a shutdown.
Written out of view of Americans and the rest of Congress, an exclusive group of leaders from both parties dumped a bill almost 3,000 pages long and costing an eye-popping $1.5 trillion taxpayer dollars on the House floor with less than 24 hours for members to read the bill before the vote.
The bill failed to rescind Biden’s unconstitutional vaccine mandates that have ousted our service members and fired our healthcare workers, advanced Biden’s climate policies, and included over $4 billion dollars worth of earmarks so lawmakers could bring their pet projects to fruition in their home states. Unrelated to government funding, the bill also jammed a version of the Violence Against Women Act which threatens American values such as our Second Amendment rights and fails to protect women from predators who may identify as a woman and gain access to facilities and programs alongside battered women. The bill even gives the Left exactly what they want by dramatically increasing the IRS’s budget to almost $13 billion, the same agency that under the last Democrat president targeted conservative Americans.
And with energy prices at record highs, the omnibus even pushed an earmark tackling racism in our energy system. You can’t make this stuff up.
It’s never been more clear to Americans that Washington is out of touch and not representing hard working Americans. This trillion dollars plus spending package comes at a time when Americans are reeling from Biden’s failed economic policies that have stuck us with record inflation and gas that tops well over $4 a gallon.
Both FL Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott were among 31 of 50 Senate Republicans who voted NO – please thank them. Shame on the 19 Republicans who voted Yes along with all Democrats.
Welcome to my e-newsletter, the Ready Room. As a retired Naval Aviator, the Ready Room is special to me because it’s where fellow aviators meet to brief and debrief missions. This is my weekly briefing to you on my mission in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and YouTube for regular updates on how my team and I are working to serve you in Congress.
Standing Up For Florida Farmers
Strawberry fields being harvested (Courtesy of Canva)
Florida farmers rely on seasonal labor to cultivate the crops that feed America. The visa process for farmers is already costly and cumbersome. Now the State Department plans to raise fees on H-2A temporary agricultural worker visas from $190 to $310. This is a costly 63% increase at a time when supply chain challenges and the labor shortage are already driving up the cost of doing business. That’s why I was pleased that Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) joined me, along with more than 40 colleagues urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to halt the fee increase. Click here for more on this important issue.
Accepting Applications for Summer Interns
View of the Capitol Building from the west (Courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol)
Are you or someone you know interested in interning in our Washington, DC or Lakeland office? We are currently accepting applications from college students or recent graduates. A congressional internship provides a valuable opportunity to learn more about the legislative branch and to serve constituents from Florida’s 15th Congressional District. Click here for information on how to apply.
Constituent Corner
Donald K. – Army Veteran from Lakeland, FL
Donald is a decorated U.S. Army Veteran from Lakeland who lost his medals and military records. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact the VA for help replacing them, Donald reached out to our office for help. We contacted the National Personnel Records Center and obtained his medals and military records. If you need assistance with a federal agency, please call our district office at (863) 644-8215 or visit my website at franklin.house.gov.
I’m honored to represent you in Congress. For more information on constituent services, current legislation and to sign up for my e-newsletter, please visit my website at franklin.house.gov .
EXCLUSIVE: The Republican National Committee (RNC) says a continuously expanding data-driven field program fueled by record-breaking fundraising will help put the GOP in the driver’s seat to win back majorities in the House and Representatives and Senate in November’s midterm elections.
The RNC, which shared its latest data and grassroots metrics first with Fox News on Wednesday, argues the rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) is “playing catch-up.”
Officials at the RNC say their story starts with fundraising.
As Fox News first reported a month ago, the RNC set an off-election record fundraising haul in 2021, edging the DNC in the campaign cash race. And the RNC topped its Democratic counterpart again in January fundraising, $13 million to $10.2 million. But the DNC retains a cash-on-hand advantage with over $11 million more in its coffers than the RNC as of the end of last month.
Pointing to Ronna McDaniel, who’s chaired the RNC since 2017, communications director Danielle Alvarez noted that “the chairwoman during her tenure has raised $1.3 billion.”
The RNC notes that its fundraising prowess has allowed it to invest in its data and field operations. The committee says it has invested over $350 million in data operation over the past couple of election cycles to develop state-of-the-art data and technology.
“Nobody else does data like the RNC does data,” Alvarez touted.
And RNC political director Elliot Echols noted that “all the data that the RNC collects … we share with campaigns up and down the ballot for free,” which he says gives them a huge advantage over the DNC.
“When we talk about being able to flip these voters back, it’s because of the RNC’s data operation that we’re able to share with state parties, share with campaigns, to provide the best targets for these candidates to go after and for us to turn them out.,” Echols said.
The RNC says its data helps it decide where to build its grassroots outreach operation.
“What’s driving all this is our data operation,” Echols noted. “It’s telling us who to go talk to. We’re then using this massive field investment that we have to then get our volunteers and our staff to have these conversations with people.
“The chairwoman’s investment in the ground game [in 2021] allowed us to re-engage a significant number of the 2.6 million volunteers and ultimately turn out Republican voters all across the country throughout the year.”
The RNC says that its efforts helped the GOP to flip the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general’s office and House of Delegates, in November’s elections in Virginia. It also made gains in the state legislature in the blue state of New Jersey.
The RNC says it currently has “more than 200 field staff in battleground states across the country” and that “we’re pretty close to presidential level build uts right now in a lot of these states and especially in battleground congressional districts.”
“These field staffers are out organizing their communities, recruiting, training and getting people activated to go out and make those volunteer voter contacts,” Echols said. “When it comes time to persuading and turning out people, Republicans up and down the ballot are in the best position possible.”
Paris Dennard, RNC national spokesman and director of Black media affairs, highlighted the committee’s current 20 community centers. It expects to expand that number to 30 by November’s midterms.
Dennard noted the “long-term strategic effort to engage the minority communities. And when I say minorities, I mean the Black community, the Hispanic community, Asian Pacific American community, as well as the Native American community.
“Donors and investors are saying this is something that is tangible, this is something that is real, this is something we can see that is happening that we want to invest in.”
The DNC is also highlighting its efforts.
Party officials note that the DNC transferred over $1.3 million in January to support state parties, and that the committee and President Biden have made “critical investments” in partners, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, (DCCC), the reelection arms of the Senate and House Democrats and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA).
The DNC highlights its $20 million funding last year to put staff on the ground in key states earlier than ever before, as well as a $25 million investment for voter education, protection and registration.
“Not only does the DNC have record grassroots engagement and has already invested more earlier than ever before in the midterm elections, but Democrats are actually delivering for the American people,” DNC deputy communications director Daniel Wessel told Fox News.
Wessel argued that “the Republican Party knows that boasting about their programs doesn’t mean they’ll win elections, and they should be more focused on figuring out how they’ll explain to voters their plan to raise taxes on over half of Americans while doing nothing to lower costs for working families.”
The RNC counters that the stability in its leadership has given it an edge in allowing it to think long term.
Alvarez noted that “by the time this cycle ends, chairwoman McDaniel will be the longest serving chair in RNC history and, as a result, she can make long-term strategic investments.”
Welcome to my e-newsletter, the Ready Room. As a retired Naval Aviator, the Ready Room is special to me because it’s where fellow aviators meet to brief and debrief missions. This is my weekly briefing to you on my mission in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and YouTube for regular updates on how my team and I are working to serve you in Congress.
Ensuring Fair Access to Banking
Tampa Bay skyline as it appears at night
(Courtesy of Canva)
Did you know that some of the largest U.S. banks are using their economic standing to discriminate against lawful companies with whom they disagree? Limiting access to capital by banks sets a dangerous and unacceptable precedent. Last week, I joined 62 of my House colleagues and co-sponsored the Fair Access to Banking Act , which prevents discrimination against constitutionally protected industries and law-abiding businesses by banks and financial service providers. Banks do not have the right to deny access to capital based on WOKE political agendas.
Are You a High School Student Interested in Attending a Service Academy?
Midshipmen walk the Yard at the U.S. Naval Academy
(Courtesy of Canva)
For high school students interested in applying to one of our service academies, applications are now open. Each year I have the privilege of nominating a limited number of people to our service academies. To begin the nomination process, please complete the form here . Please note the deadline for applications is October 7, 2022.
Constituent Corner
United States passport and American flag
(Courtesy of Canva)
Robert from Lakeland needed an expedited passport for work outside the U.S. When contacting the National Passport Center was unsuccessful, he called our office. We obtained the expedited passport for him within four weeks. If you need assistance with a federal agency, please call my Lakeland office at (863) 644-8215 or visit my website at franklin.house.gov.
I’m honored to represent you in Congress. For more information on constituent services, current legislation and to sign up for my e-newsletter, please visit my website at franklin.house.gov .
Welcome to my e-newsletter, the Ready Room. As a retired Naval Aviator, the Ready Room is special to me because it’s where fellow aviators meet to brief and debrief missions. This is my weekly briefing to you on my mission in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and YouTube for regular updates on how my team and I are working to serve you in Congress.
The Mach 1 Caucus Will Advance US National Security
The U.S. Navy variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C, conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay.
(Courtesy of the United States Navy)
I’m proud to announce the launch of the Mach 1 Caucus with my colleagues Reps. Mike Garcia, August Pfluger, and Jake Ellzey. The Caucus is a group of Members dedicated to policy issues important to the fighter pilot community. We will apply our military knowledge and experience to develop policy and educate our colleagues on issues and needs that are critical to our nation’s air power. Click here to read about the Mach 1 Caucus.
Opposing Legislation that Fails to Hold China Accountable
The American and Chinese flags
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to threaten American safety and security. The CCP steals our innovation, commits intellectual property theft, and covers up their ongoing genocide of Uyghurs. The Senate worked in a bipartisan manner to draft a bill to address the CCP rising threats. Instead of doing the same, House Democrats crafted the COMPETES Act – a bill they claim addresses the rising threat of China. They did not include any Republican input and the bill fails to address the growing threats posed by the CCP. Instead, it’s a grab bag of socialist handouts and irresponsible expansions of government subsidies. Furthermore, this bill does nothing to counter China’s intellectual property theft, and fails to hold China accountable for Uyghur genocide. Congress must put the safety and well-being of Americans first. However, this bill fails to do so, which is why I voted against it.
Constituent Corner
After getting no response from the National Personnel Records Center or VA office, Joni from Lakeland asked my office for help. We were able to help successfully obtain her husband’s military records. If you need assistance with a government agency, please call my Lakeland office at (863) 644-8215 or visit my website at franklin.house.gov.
I’m honored to represent you in Congress. For more information on constituent services, current legislation and to sign up for my e-newsletter, please visit my website at franklin.house.gov .
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is suing Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to push for more transparency when it comes to the county’s processes for counting absentee ballots, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
The lawsuit represents an escalation by the GOP in an effort to establish uniformity in the Keystone State when it comes to the process of absentee ballot counting, with several counties in the state still resisting transparency and reform efforts.
“The RNC is suing the Bucks County Board of Elections because Pennsylvanians deserve transparent elections,” RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Breitbart News. “Refusing to share crucial information about how absentee ballots are counted is unacceptable. This is yet another example of how the RNC is fighting for election integrity in courts across the country: whether it’s non-citizens voting in New York City or local election boards hiding information, we hold Democrats accountable.”
Filed Friday in the Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the RNC lawsuit against the Bucks County Board of Elections seeks to compel the county to provide documents and information the RNC previously filed formal requests for regarding the process for absentee ballot counting in Pennsylvania elections. The county previously denied the information through the formal request, and the RNC seeks to have the court overturn that denial and force the county to cooperate with the public records requests.
The original request from the RNC sought several items, per the lawsuit. “Any and all communications from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections, regarding the counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election” is the first item listed.
The next eight items sought are as follows, quoted directly from the lawsuit:
Any and all communications to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections, regarding the counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
Any and all communications from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections, regarding training for poll workers and judges of elections for the 2020 General Election.
Any and all documents reviewed or utilized by the Bucks County Board of Elections regarding the counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
Any and all documents regarding and/or relating to any training sessions regarding the procedures to be used in counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
Any and all documents reflecting the procedure used to count, process, cure, or reject mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
Any and all documents relied upon and/or referred to during the Canvass, as that term is described in the Pennsylvania Election Code.
Any and all communications to or from any employee or staff member of the Bucks County Board of elections, including the administrator of mail-in elections regarding the counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
Any plan, documents, training materials, or other materials created or used by the Bucks County Board of Elections, its employees, officers, or agents for creating the system used to process, count, cure, or reject mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.
At first, per the RNC lawsuit, Bucks County sought extensions from the deadline Pennsylvania open records laws impose on such requests—but then later formally denied the request. The RNC appealed the denial to the state Office of Open Records, where the request was also denied. This lawsuit is the next step in attempting to procure all that information as the GOP seeks to rein in the left when it comes to election matters in Pennsylvania and other states.
Bucks County is also not the only Pennsylvania where the GOP is fighting this matter. Similar battles are playing out in Berks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Allegheny counties as well. Party officials say they are prepared to bring similar lawsuits against other counties that resist the production of these records, like Bucks County is doing.
RNC officials told Breitbart News that during the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, counties lacked uniformity in how absentee ballots were counted and that some counties allowed voters to “cure” what election officials considered “defective ballots” while other counties did not allow curing of ballots—something that the party believes negatively impacted Republican voters, while disparately helping Democrat voters, in the state of Pennsylvania.
The RNC is attempting to, through these efforts, compel counties across Pennsylvania to be transparent in how they process and count absentee ballots—several of these countries are notoriously secretive about the process, as evidenced by the formal denials of the open records requests. What’s more, RNC officials believe that once the information on the process is available and transparent, it could provide the basis for a larger lawsuit and legal action forcing a uniformity statewide on the process of handling absentee ballots.
This latest action comes on the heels of a state court in Pennsylvania in late January striking down Act 77, the state law that retiring Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf used as the basis for the state’s 2020 election activities.
Special counsel John Durham says he is building a case to show the technology executive with whom an indicted Democratic lawyer on the payroll of Hillary Clinton’s campaign was working to build a Trump-Russia collusion narrative gained access to internet traffic at the White House to try and obtain dirt on former President Donald Trump.
Left-wing lawyer Michael Sussmann was indicted last year for allegedly concealing his clients, among them Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, from the FBI when he volunteered since-debunked claims of a secret back channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank. Durham revealed in a Friday court filing that he has evidence that Sussmann’s other client (dubbed “Technology Executive-1” but known to be former Neustar Senior Vice President Rodney Joffe) “exploited” domain name system internet traffic at “a particular health care provider” (which was likely Spectrum Health), Trump Tower, Trump’s Central Park West apartment building, and “the Executive Office of the President of the United States.”
The revelations, made as part of a motion for the Washington, D.C., federal court to look into possible conflicts of interest related to Sussmann’s defense team, gave allies of Trump more reason to believe the former president was spied upon, as evidenced by an upsurge in tweets about the latest salve in the so-called Russiagate scandal.
“They didn’t just spy on Donald Trump’s campaign. They spied on Donald Trump as sitting President of the United States. It was all even worse than we thought,” tweeted Mark Meadows, a former congressman who later became Trump’s White House chief of staff.
Kash Patel, an intelligence and defense official in the Trump administration and chief “Russigate” investigator under then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, said the filing “shows that the Hillary Clinton campaign directly funded and ordered its lawyers at Perkins Coie to orchestrate a criminal enterprise to fabricate a connection between President Trump and Russia.”
Durham said that “Internet Company-1” accessed “dedicated servers for the EOP as part of a sensitive arrangement whereby it provided DNS resolution services to the EOP” and that Joffe and his associates “exploited this arrangement by mining the EOP’s DNS traffic and other data for the purpose of gathering derogatory information about Donald Trump.”
Joffe alerted Sussmann about the Alfa Bank claims by July 2016, Durham said last year, and “over the ensuing weeks, and as part of their lawyer-client relationship,” Sussmann and Joffe “engaged in efforts with Campaign Lawyer-1” — identifiable as former Perkins Coie lawyer and Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias.
Durham said Friday that Sussmann “provided an updated set of allegations — including the Russian Bank-1 data and additional allegations relating to Trump” to another U.S. government agency dubbed “Agency-2,” which is reportedly the CIA. Durham said the allegations Sussmann passed along during the Feb. 9, 2017, meeting relied partly on “the purported DNS traffic that Tech Executive-1 and others had assembled pertaining to Trump Tower, Donald Trump’s New York City apartment building, the EOP, and the aforementioned healthcare provider.”
Durham’s team has charged Sussmann with lying to the FBI when pushing the Alfa Bank claims. Sussmann allegedly told FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016 that he was not working for any particular client despite doing the bidding of Clinton’s campaign, billing his services to her, as well as working on behalf of Joffe. Sussmann denies any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty. Durham insists Sussmann repeated the lie in 2017.
Special counsel John Durham.
(Bob Child/AP Photo)
The special counsel said Friday that Sussmann “provided data which he claimed reflected purportedly suspicious DNS lookups by these entities of internet protocol addresses affiliated with a Russian mobile phone provider” during the February 2017 meeting, and Sussmann “claimed that these lookups demonstrated that Trump and/or his associates were using supposedly rare, Russian-made wireless phones in the vicinity of the White House and other locations.” Durham said this assertion was likely highly misleading or outright false.
“The Special Counsel’s Office has identified no support for these allegations,” he wrote. “Indeed, more complete DNS data that the Special Counsel’s Office obtained from a company that assisted Tech Executive-1 in assembling these allegations reflects that such DNS lookups were far from rare in the United States.”
Durham added: “For example, the more complete data that Tech Executive-1 and his associates gathered — but did not provide to Agency-2 — reflected that between approximately 2014 and 2017, there were a total of more than 3 million lookups of Russian Phone-Provider-1 IP addresses that originated with U.S.-based IP addresses. Fewer than 1,000 of these lookups originated with IP addresses affiliated with Trump Tower. In addition, the more complete data assembled by Tech Executive-1 and his associates reflected that DNS lookups involving the EOP and Russian Phone Provider-1 began at least as early 2014 (i.e., during the Obama administration and years before Trump took office) — another fact which the allegations omitted.”
Durham pointed to the indictment of Sussmann, which alleged beginning in July 2016 Joffe worked with Sussmann, Fusion GPS (which had been hired by Perkins Coie), numerous cyber researchers, and employees at multiple internet companies to put together the Alfa Bank claims. While doing this, Durham said Joffe “exploited his access to non-public and/or proprietary Internet data.” The special counsel said Joffe “also enlisted the assistance of researchers at a U.S.-based university,” Georgia Tech, “who were receiving and analyzing large amounts of Internet data in connection with a pending federal government cybersecurity research contract” — likely from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Durham said Joffe tasked those researchers to mine internet data to establish “an inference” and “narrative” tying then-candidate Trump to Russia. Durham said Joffe indicated he was doing this to please certain “VIPs” at Perkins Coie and on the Clinton campaign.
The Washington Examiner reached out to an attorney for Joffe for comment.
“Durham states that Sussman and Mark Elias (Perkins Coie) hired the internet executive, Rodney Joffe and his team to establish an ‘inference and narrative’ tying President Trump to Russia,” Patel said in his statement on Durham’s new filing.
“Durham writes he has evidence showing Joffe and his tech company obtained a ‘sensitive arrangement’ where they were able to infiltrate White House servers. Per Durham, this arrangement was put in motion in July of 2016, meaning the Hillary Clinton Campaign and her lawyers masterminded the most intricate and coordinated conspiracy against Trump when he was both a candidate and later President of the United States while simultaneously perpetuating the bogus Steele Dossier hoax,” Patel added. “Per the pleading, the government will also show that Joffe, at the direction of Sussman/Elias and the Clinton Campaign, exploited proprietary data, to hack Trump Tower and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) to establish a false narrative, which Sussman later relayed to U.S. agencies in the hopes of having them launch investigations of President Trump.”
Last month, Durham’s team said it had met with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz in October and followed up with a discovery request for information relevant to its inquiry into the Russia investigation origins. Horowitz provided records, including a report about a “cyber-related matter” that Sussmann brought to the inspector general’s attention in early 2017.
The cyber report said Sussmann told an agent in Horowitz’s office that one of Sussmann’s clients claimed a DOJ inspector general employee’s computer was “seen publicly” in “internet traffic” and had connected to a virtual private network in a foreign country.
Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a presidential primary Election Night rally in 2016.
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
What Horowitz failed to reveal, according to Durham, was that he personally met with Sussmann in March 2017 to discuss the mysterious report. Durham only learned of that meeting during a Jan. 20 call with Sussmann’s lawyers, according to the filing, and the DOJ watchdog discussed it with Durham’s team for the first time the next day after being asked about it. Durham says Sussmann was working on behalf of Joffe related to this “cyber issue.”
The Friday filing by Durham asked the presiding judge “to inquire into potential conflicts of interest arising from the representation of the defendant by his current counsel” at the Latham & Watkins law firm, saying the special counsel team discussed this with Sussmann’s lawyers “and believes that any potential conflicts likely could be addressed with a knowing and voluntary waiver by the defendant.” Durham said Sussmann “presently intends to waive any potential conflict of interest.”
The special counsel said “possible that conflicts of interest could arise” from Latham previously representing others in the Durham investigation whose interests may conflict with those of Sussmann. The firm previously represented Sussmann and his prior employer, Perkins Coie, in connection with events Durham said likely will be relevant at trial and that Latham “maintained professional and/or personal relationships with individuals who could be witnesses in these proceedings.”
The Alfa Bank allegations began to emerge publicly in the closing weeks of the 2016 election. On Oct. 31 of that year, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.” Clinton also shared a lengthy statement from Clinton campaign adviser Jake Sullivan, now President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, who claimed that “this secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia.”
Horowitz, the DOJ inspector general, said in his December 2019 report on the Russia investigation that the FBI “concluded by early February 2017 that there were no such links” between Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization.
“The latest pleading from Special Counsel Robert Durham provides indisputable evidence that my campaign and presidency were spied on by operatives paid by the Hillary Clinton Campaign in an effort to develop a completely fabricated connection to Russia,” Trump said in a statement issued by his Save America PAC on Saturday. “This is a scandal far greater in scope and magnitude than Watergate, and those who were involved in and knew about this spying operation should be subject to criminal prosecution. In a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death. In addition, reparations should be paid to those in our country who have been damaged by this.”
Durham began the investigation in the spring of 2019 at the behest of then-Attorney General William Barr. Under the Biden administration, Durham left his role as the U.S. attorney in Connecticut but was allowed to continue the investigation as special counsel. Roughly $3.8 million was spent across a nearly one-year period ending on Sept. 30 for the special counsel’s work.
The so-called “investigation into the investigators” has lasted longer than Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation into alleged ties between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia, which cost nearly $32 million.
Durham told a federal court in December that he was scrutinizing members of Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as part of his criminal inquiry. The special counsel’s team asked a judge to “inquire into a potential conflict of interest” related to the lawyers for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s main anti-Trump dossier source, Igor Danchenko, noting that a separate lawyer at their firm “is currently representing the 2016 ‘Hillary for America’ presidential campaign, as well as multiple former employees of that campaign, in matters before the Special Counsel.”
Igor Danchenko leaves the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, on Nov. 4, 2021.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Danchenko, a U.S.-based and Russian-born researcher, was charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI. Durham’s indictment said Danchenko made these statements about the information he provided to Steele for his now-discredited dossier, which the FBI relied upon when pursuing authority for the secret surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Danchenko has pleaded not guilty.
Horowitz, the DOJ watchdog, concluded in December 2019 that Steele’s dossier played a “central and essential” role in the FBI’s effort to obtain wiretap orders against Page. The DOJ watchdog determined the FBI’s investigation was filled with serious missteps and errors and concealed potentially exculpatory information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The inspector general also said Danchenko undermined Steele’s claims of a “well-developed conspiracy” between Trump and Russia.
Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty to editing an email fraudulently to say Page was “not a source” for the CIA and was sentenced to a year of probation.
Durham’s endeavor has long been criticized by Democrats and legal observers who claim the inquiry is meant to undercut Mueller’s special counsel investigation. Trump and his allies have championed the investigation as a means to root out corrupt officials and settle political scores.
Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers in October that Durham has free rein under his watch.
“We’re now in a new fiscal year, and as everyone knows, Mr. Durham is continuing. So I think you can readily assume that his budget has been approved,” Garland said, adding, “We don’t normally make a statement about those things, but since he’s still in action, the provisions of the regulation which require approval of his budget for the next fiscal year are public, so I think … you would know if he weren’t continuing to do his work.”
Orlando Magic honored Lake Wales veteran, Kathryn “Kat” Gates-Skipper, a local retired U.S. Marine, for her service during a basketball game on Friday evening. Kat was formally recognized for her military service by honoring her as a “hometown hero.”
“Kat” served 20 years in active reserve and became the first female marine in combat operations. Her achievements inducting her into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame. She is married to an Army veteran, and they have had two sons together: one in the Navy, and one in the Air Force.
Orlando Magic periodically recognizes first responders, fire fighters, police officers, medical professionals, or military personnel as a “hometown hero” during their games.
“We look forward to receiving nominations for any and all Central Florida heroes,” its website states. “We love seeing nominations for individuals who play a big part in our community and have been recognized for specific achievements.”
Kat was previously scheduled to be recognized at an Orlando Magic game two years ago, but that honor was postponed, along with most games, following the start of the ongoing pandemic.
Prior to the game, the arena hosted a presentation with an announcement on the Jumbotron with pictures of Kat in military uniform and a brief biography of her life and achievements. The national anthem was then performed by a children’s choir prior to the game’s start.
“They took really good care for us,” Kat said. “It made me queen for the day.”
Her favorite part of the game was being able to enjoy it with her family, especially her grandson. He enjoys basketball, and being able to watch a game in person is better than watching it on television, she said.
“I was happy to have one of my children and grandson to recognize my recognition,” she said. “That overwhelmed my heart.”
While she appreciated the honor for her military service, Kat humbly admits that her motivation is purely for the love of her fellow Americans, especially her fellow retired veterans.
“I do things not to give anything in return, but it does make you feel good when people respect you and appreciate the things that you do for others,” she said. “I am just so appreciative that magic would honor me as their hometown hero, and it is good they have such a program available to do that, and I was glad to be a part of it.”
