The Federalist 
Tech executive Rodney Joffe may assert attorney-client privilege for communications he had with employees of Fusion GPS because those communications furthered Joffe and the Clinton campaignâs common interest, a federal judge presiding over the criminal case against Michael Sussmann ruled yesterday. Prosecutors will now be greatly limited in the material they may elicit from one of the two witnesses granted immunity in exchange for their testimony against Sussmann.
Sussmann, whose trial in a D.C. federal court on a false statement charge is set to begin on Monday, scored a victory Thursday when presiding judge Christopher Cooper rejected Special Counsel John Durhamâs attempts to present the jury copies of emails previously withheld by Joffe, the Clinton campaign, and the Democratic National Committee as privileged. The ruling came in response to Durhamâs motion to compel Fusion GPS to provide the court, for in camera review, 38 emails the investigative research firm withheld from the grand jury based on the Clinton campaignâs claim of attorney-client privilege and work-product privilege. The latter protects notes, memoranda, and other communications capturing the mental impressions of an attorney, or those helping an attorney prepare for litigation.
Of the 38 emails, the court held that the Clinton campaign âhad no valid basis to withhold 22 ofâ them. Those emails, the court concluded, did not concern legal advice but involved Fusion GPS employeesâ interactions âwith the press as part of an affirmative media relations effort by the Clinton Campaign.â âThat effort,â the court noted, âincluded pitching certain stories, providing information on background, and answering reportersâ questions.â…
