According to notes taken by then-CIA Director John Brennan, President Barack Obama received a briefing on July 28, 2016--one day before Sussmann's email to Trainor. Brennan told Obama of an intelligence intercept showing that Russia was aware of a plan approved by Clinton to "vilify" her rival, Donald Trump, by "stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security services."

Days later, the CIA informed the FBI of intelligence suggesting that Clinton's plan was meant "as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server."

According to the indictment of several Russian nationals brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, the alleged Russian conspirators gained access to the DCCC network on April 12, 2016. That same day, then-FBI Director James Comey held a meeting with senior FBI officials to discuss how to execute a "credible ... conclusion" of the FBI investigation into Clinton's use of an unauthorized private email server to conduct government business.

The DCCC and the DNC hired CrowdStrike, a private cybersecurity firm, to investigate and remediate the network intrusions. The FBI conducted its own investigation, relying on server images and reports produced by CrowdStrike, with Sussmann playing as the singular point of contact representing the DNC and the DCCC, according to another email introduced during the trial.

The CrowdStrike reports sent to the FBI were partly redacted. An email addressed to Sussmann by an FBI agent indicated that receiving the nonredacted versions of the reports was the top priority for the bureau. According to a previous filing by the Department of Justice in the case against Trump associate Roger Stone, the bureau never received the unredacted reports. The FBI has rejected Freedom of Information Act requests for the documents.

Other missives entered during Sussmann's trial showed the lawyer becoming upset after the bureau announced that it was investigating the reported intrusion into the DNC network.

DNC Server Intrusion and Unswered Questions | Jan 26th, 2018 |

Ukraine-Russia Proxy War and the U.S. Election | July 26th, 2017 |

FBI Forensics That Never Happened on DNC Server | July 2, 2017 |

Planned follow-up diary key words | Ukrainian influence: DNC | Alperovitch founder CrowdStrike | Victor Pinchuk | Chalupa sisters |

'Sapere aude'

Michael Sussmann: lawyer at Perkins Coie hired CrowdStrike to investigate the DNC breach. He was also involved with  Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele in producing the discredited Steele dossier.

CrowdStrike President Shawn Henry's admission under oath it had no proof that Russia exfiltrated DNC emails

Security startup CrowdStrike hires one of FBI's top lawyers Steven Chabinsky | Reuters - Sept 2012 |

The company's about 50 employees include a contingent of former intelligence and law enforcement officers, led by Shawn Henry, the former head of cyber crime investigations at the FBI who joined CrowdStrike in April as the president of its professional services division.

'Sapere aude'

FBI reviewed cybersecurity firm's evidence in 2016 DNC election hack | AP News - Sept 26, 2019 |

Former FBI Director James Comey also told Congress in 2017 that CrowdStrike "ultimately shared with us their forensics from their review of the system."

That's not unusual, said Eugene H. Spafford, a professor of computer science at the Center for Education and Research in Information Security at Purdue University.

Such reviews are a comprehensive copy of what is on the machine at the time and include a replica of saved messages, network connections and active accounts.