Fox News: Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan is the 'foreign policy advisor' mentioned in Durham probe indictment



White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been identified as the "foreign policy advisor" referred to in the indictment of former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, Fox News reports.

Back in September, Sussmann, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer with deep ties to the Democratic Party, was indicted on charges of lying to the FBI in a meeting with senior officials in 2016. Sussmann had reportedly brought evidence to the FBI he claimed connected the Trump Organization to the Kremlin-connected Alfa Bank.

The indictment accuses Sussman of presenting himself as a simple concerned citizen without disclosing his connection to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal agent.

"On or about September 15, 2016, Campaign Lawyer-1 exchanged emails with the Clinton Campaign's campaign manager, communications director, and foreign policy advisor concerning the Russian Bank-1 allegations that SUSSMANN had recently shared with Reporter 1," the indictment states.

According to Fox News, Sullivan is the foreign policy adviser referred to, a fact that was first reported by the Washington Examiner. Clinton's campaign manager was Robby Mook, and her communications director was Jennifer Palmieri.

It was confirmed (and not just by me) that Jake Sullivan was the unnamed \u201cForeign Policy Advisor\u201d in John Durham\u2019s indictment against Michael Sussmann way back in September when the indictment was first made public.\n\nhttps://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/jake-sullivan-promoted-alfa-bank-story-center-durham-indictment\u00a0\u2026 https://twitter.com/foxnews/status/1458150729340887042\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/2WFjvVxeEs

— Jerry Christmas \ud83c\udf84\ud83c\udf85\ud83c\udffd (@JerryDunleavy) 1636488965

Sussman's indictment came out of special counsel John Durham's probe into the origins of the Russia investigation. Sullivan is not a target of the Durham probe, and the indictment only describes him as a recipient of information.

When asked for comment, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News, "I don't know anything about what you're just mentioning. So I have to talk to our team."

The allegations of a connection between the Trump campaign and Alfa Bank, brought to the FBI by Sussmann, became an issue in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Then-candidate Clinton tweeted about the allegations just days before she lost to Donald Trump.

"Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank," Clinton tweeted, linking to a campaign statement from Sullivan that detailed the accusations.

Another recent indictment from the Durham probe has linked the 2016 Clinton campaign to false information that purported to show a link between Trump and Russia.

Last week, U.S.-based Russian analyst Igor Danchenko was indicted on five counts of lying to the FBI. Danchenko was the "primary researcher" for the Steele dossier — a discredited report that compiled various allegations and rumors accusing Trump's campaign of colluding with the Russian government to defeat Clinton.

The indictment claims Danchenko made false statements to federal investigators in 2017 by denying a relationship with a public relations executive and longtime Democratic operative who had close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton. The PR executive was one of his sources for research that was included in the dossier.

Over the weekend, former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said he expects "many indictments" to come from Durham's probe and suggested everyone who had a hand in creating the Steele dossier is in "jeopardy."

"What happened with the Steele dossier, a grand jury is saying, was criminal in nature and I expect that all of the folks that are involved with creating it and peddling it falsely would be in jeopardy," Ratcliffe told Fox News, "and I know that that's what John Durham is looking at, and as I talked about, this goes to the highest levels of our government and government agencies involved."

Kamala Harris criticized for response after reporter confronts her about Afghanistan crisis



Vice President Kamala Harris generated criticism Sunday after she responded to a recent question about the Afghanistan crisis by laughing and claiming the Biden administration "couldn't have a higher priority right now."

What happened?

After embarking on her Southeast Asia tour, Harris addressed a gaggle of reporters on the airport tarmac, cutting off a reporter who began to ask her about the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.

"What's your response to reports of Americans—" the reporter began, speaking over the sound of jet engines.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Harris said, cutting off the reporter. "Slow down, everybody," Harris added, afterward letting out a big laugh.

"I want to talk about two things. First, Afghanistan— We couldn't have a higher priority right now," Harris said after finishing her laugh. "And in particular high priority is making sure that we safely evacuate American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, Afghans at risk, including women and children, and that is one of our highest if not the highest priority right now."

Because the reporter was never allowed to finish her question, it's not clear what she was going to ask Harris specifically. However, it sounded like she was going to ask Harris about the Americans trapped in Afghanistan.

Reporter: “What’s your response to reports of Americans—“Kamala Harris: “Hold on. Hold on. Slow down everybody. H… https://t.co/DQEB3iDoyE

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) 1629637676.0

What was her response?

Critics panned Harris not only for her inopportune laughing, but claiming the Afghanistan crisis is the administration's highest priority while she spends the week in Southeast Asia.

  • "'We couldn't have a higher property right now. That's why I'm going to board this plane and depart this self inflicted catastrophe,'" one person mocked.
  • "Higher priority, yeah as she leaves the country," another person said.
  • "No higher priority.. which is why I'm in Singapore," one person mocked.
  • "I'm not a fan of hers but I think she does this whenever she gets nervous. Ask her a tough question and she does that cackle," one person observed.
  • "Whether true or not, she does just exude this sense of not caring about anything outside herself," another person noted.
  • "Serious issue and she cackles," one person criticized.
  • "If her highest priority 'right' is getting American's out of Afghanistan, then why is she LEAVING THE COUNTRY when our American's need her in DC doing her job in trying to do everything possible to get them out?" another person said.
  • "There are a of names that I would like to call her but then I will get a phone call from my mom," Fox News' Lisa Boothe said.
  • "What's so funny? Absolutely nothing!" another person said.

Harris' Southeast Asia tour began in Singapore on Sunday. She will travel to Vietnam on Tuesday before departing the region for the U.S. on Thursday.

DC Democratic mayor caught partying without face mask after enacting new mask mandate



When Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) of Washington, D.C., announced this week she was enacting a face mask mandate in the nation's capital, questions immediately arose over why the mandate would not take effect until days later.

After all, if COVID-19 transmission is serious enough to warrant another face mask mandate, should it not take effect immediately?

That question may have found its answer Friday night.

What is the background?

Bowser announced Thursday that people in the nation's capital, regardless of vaccination status, would be required to wear face masks indoors beginning 5 a.m. Saturday.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to keep D.C. safe," Bowser said. She did not explain why the mandate would take effect two days after her announcement.

What may explain the gap?

Photos surfaced on Saturday purportedly showing Bowser celebrating her birthday, which is Aug. 2. The photos show attendees, including the mayor and comedian Dave Chappelle, not wearing face masks.

The DJ who allegedly worked the celebration posted a photo on Instagram showing the maskless crowd. "When your asked to Dj for the Mayor!!! Happy Birthday @mayor_bowser," the DJ captioned the now-deleted photo.

Another photo showed Bowser and Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio posing with Chappelle.

Muriel Bowser mask mandate started at 5AM this morning.(h/t @BradEngle for the birthday party pic) https://t.co/bLAtlmTftk

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) 1627739470.0

Bowser's decision not to wear a face mask directly put the health of others at risk, at least according to her own COVID-19 face mask guidance. "Choosing not to wear a mask puts your own health as well as the health of others at risk," the DC face mask guidance states.

The guidance also states, "A mask is not a substitute for physical distancing." As the photos show, Bowser did not follow that directive, either.