Durham recommends prison
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https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/04/john-durham-kevin-clinesmith-prison-carter-page/
U.S. Attorney John Durham is seeking a prison sentence of up to six months for Kevin Clinesmith, the former FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to altering an email from the CIA regarding former Trump campaign aide Carter Page’s past relationship with the spy agency.
Durham asked a federal judge in a court filing on Thursday to sentence Clinesmith to a jail term “between the middle and upper end” of what federal sentencing guidelines recommend for the crime of making false statements in writing.
Clinesmith pleaded guilty to the charge on Aug. 19. He admitted to adding the phrase “not a ‘source'” to a June 2017 email from a CIA employee who had provided information about Page’s relationship with the agency.
Page served as an “operational contact” for the CIA from 2008 to 2013.
Clinesmith is seeking a sentence of probation with no jail time, according to a filing his lawyers submitted on Thursday. His attorneys said that Clinesmith “made a grievous mistake” in altering the email, and “accepts full responsibility” for his actions.
They maintain that Clinesmith “did not knowingly lie” about Page’s relationship with the CIA. Durham asserts that Clinesmith may have been motivated to alter the email due to “political or personal bias” against Donald Trump and his campaign.
Durham pointed to a Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server which flagged texts messages that Clinesmith sent criticizing Trump after his election win.
Clinesmith wrote “Viva le Resistance” in one message that seemingly referenced the so-called Trump Resistance that formed after his election win.
