Bill Barr's Mueller probe has inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy of Flynn's defenders: legal expert
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/bill-barrs-mueller-probe-has-inadvertently-exposed-the-hypocrisy-of-flynns-defenders-legal-experts/
Bill Barrs Mueller probe has inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy of Flynns defenders: legal experts
Published 3 mins ago on August 19, 2020By Sky Palma
FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will soon plead guilty to a felony in federal district court after he allegedly made false statements in connection with an FBI application to surveil Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
The case was brought by U.S. Attorney John Durham as part of his investigation into the origins of the Russia probe an investigation that was initiated by Attorney General Bill Barr.
Writing for Lawfare, Barbara McQuade and Chuck Rosenberg note that the statute Clinesmith will plead guilty to is the same statute Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to twice in federal court. One element of the statute to which Clinesmith will plead guilty requires that his false statement be material.
that means that his false statement had a natural tendency to influence a pending matter (here, the surveillance application to the court) or was capable of influencing that matter. This is typically an easy element to meet, McQuade and Rosenberg write.
More at link.