Last week former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook made headlines when he testified at the federal trial of former Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann. Sussmann is charged for lying to the FBI about who he was representing in 2016 when he presented agents with false information connecting Donald Trump to a Russian bank.
On the stand, Mook revealed Hillary Clinton herself approved of pushing the false information to the media.
“'Hey, we have this and we want to share it with a reporter.' She agreed to that,” Mook said. "Part of the point of giving it to a reporter was they could run it down further."
On the campaign trail, Clinton repeatedly promoted the false narrative through tweets and her campaign apparatus. Her national security advisor at the time, Jake Sullivan, took the lead on pushing the narrative.
"This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow. Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank," Sullivan released in a statement on November 1, 2016. "This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump's ties to Russia. It certainly seems the Trump Organization felt it had something to hide, given that it apparently took steps to conceal the link when it was discovered by journalists."
"This line of communication may help explain Trump's bizarre adoration of Vladimir Putin and endorsement of so many pro-Kremlin positions throughout this campaign. It raises even more troubling questions in light of Russia's masterminding of hacking efforts that are clearly intended to hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign. We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia as part of their existing probe into Russia's meddling in our elections," he continued.
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The information wasn't "discovered by journalists." It was handed to them by the Clinton campaign.
Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank. pic.twitter.com/8f8n9xMzUU
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 1, 2016
But the trial also revealed that Sullivan, who is President Joe Biden's current White House National Security Advisor, was also fully briefed on the false information and took the lead on pushing the narrative.
Here’s Marc Elias testifying that he kept Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sulllivan in the loop on the Trump - Alfa Bank Russia hoax. Any reporters going to ask Jake about this? pic.twitter.com/gGoS3lpdyQ
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) May 22, 2022
The statement from Sullivan and tweeted by Clinton in November 2016 has come full circle as Special Counsel John Durham continues his investigations.
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