John Durham's Missing Signals (and FaceTime and WhatsApp and iPad) – emptywheel

As is common, the case agent for the Durham investigation against Igor Danchenko, Ryan James, was the last witness on Friday. Case agents are often used to summarize the case against a defendant and introduce boring communications records that the prosecution will rely on in the closing arguments. As Durham cued James to describe, he spent the first nine years of his career as an FBI employee in New Haven, where Durham was, first an AUSA and then US Attorney. Q When you finished up at the Quantico Training Academy, you would then be a first office agent as it’s sometimes referred to? A Yes. Q And what’s a first office agent? A So that’s the term that you get when you graduate the academy, and it’s the first office you’re assigned to. Q And where were you first assigned? A New Haven, Connecticut. Q And how long were you in New Haven, Connecticut? A So I was there from late ’09 to September of 2018. By description, he’s the single current or former FBI employee of five who testified at the trial (the others being Brian Auten, Kevin Helson, Amy Anderson, and Brittany Hertzog) who described no expertise in…
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