Bull Durham v. Marc Elias?
Breitbart has a report concerning Dem top election law attorney Marc Elias. Elias is leaving his long time firm of Perkins Coie, taking with him 11 partners and some other lawyers to start a new election law firm:
Democrat Election Lawyer, Russia Hoaxer Marc Elias Leaves Perkins Coie Ahead of Durham Report
The article is very worthwhile as a refresher on Elias' involvement in the Russia Hoax. It also goes into Elias' background as one of the very top lawyers for the Dems--which means, for the Clinton organization.
For our purposes the important point is that Elias was the person who arranged for the Clinton Campaign to hire Fusion GPS to do opposition research, while funneling payments to Fusion GPS through Perkins Coie. My understanding--subject to correction--is that such an arrangement would have been in violation of election laws.
Fusion, in turn, hired Christopher Steele, the British former MI6 agent who wrote the fictional "Steele Dossier" that ultimately ended up being delivered to the FBI in Fall of 2016. This "dossier" served as the basis for the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation. I say that, even though the attempt has been made to conceal that by claiming that Crossfire Hurricane was predicated on George Papadopoulos' conversations with Australian "diplomat" Alexander Downer.
For the last few weeks we've been treated to articles claiming that Durham's investigation is drawing to a close. Durham's investigation is said to have focused on the origins of Crossfire Hurricane and the possibility that non-government actors may have provided the FBI with false information. That appears to be a broad hint that Durham has been investigating the roles played in the Russia Hoax by key Dem operatives: Fusion GPS and its head, Glenn Simpson (also other Fusion employees such as Nellie Ohr); Marc Elias; and Michael Sussmann--a key Clinton lawyer who personally delivered the "dossier" to the FBI's top lawyer, James Baker.
Washington law professor Jonathan Turley is of the view that Elias' departure from Perkins Coie is tied to revelations that may come from Durham's report--if it's ever released to the public. Certainly it's understandable that, as a result of Elias' ethics problems, Perkins Coie may have come to regard Elias as too hot to handle, and may have asked him to take his practice elsewhere. As for the possibility that Elias could be indicted for providing false information to the FBI, it appears that Durham will need to work very quickly and get approval from AG Merrick Garland very quickly, since the statute of limitations--as I understand the timeline--likely runs out in September or October (at the very latest).
My guess is that there won't be an indictment, that the statute of limitations will be allowed to run, but that Elias will be criticized by Durham--probably as an incorrigible liar. Elias will doubtless get over that. Here is a summary of Turley's tweets on the subject:
Marc Elias is leaving Perkins Coie before the release of the John Durham report.
It is interesting that Maggie Haberman revealed it. She was one of the reporters who revealed the lies of the Clinton team over the Steele dossier.
...New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Clinton lawyer Marc Elias , with the law firm of Perkins Coie, denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier...
...When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”
Understandably, reporters don't like to be lied to, but that happens when you talk to people like Elias. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't expect an indictment.