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(thanks, numberonepal)

• Sussmann’s lawyer is asking Martin if he knew Rodney Joffe, who oversaw the DNS data research on Trump/Alfabank, was an FBI informant. Martin says he only learned this after the fact

• Martin did acknowledge though that Joffe is well-known as a DNS expert in the cyber world

• Brittain Shaw now doing re-direct

• She wants to know if the FBI would want to know about the source of DNS data when applying for a search warrant. Martin agrees this is important to know.

• Shaw asks Martin if he was aware Rodney Joffe was “closed for cause” as an FBI source. Martin says no. He is now stepping down and is excused. His testimony is over

• The United States calls FBI special agent Scott Hellman

• He oversees a team of cyber crime investigators at the FBI.

• Hellman says he was aware of the allegations that there were online connections between the Trump Org & Alfabank.

• Hellman was responsible in part for determining/overseeing the “chain of custody” over the data Sussmann provided, which included thumb drives

• An exhibit shows James Baker, GC for FBI at the time, took initial custody of the evidence turned over by Sussmann, and then it went next to @petestrzok before making its way into the custody of several other @FBI officials

• Hellman says he was upset that in his chain of custody review, he could not determine the source of the thumb drives and other materials. “I was frustrated I was not able to identity of who had provided these thumb drives… to Mr. Baker.”

• He says he was tasked with analyzing the data and its accompanying narratives to see how it compared with his own independent assessment

• Exhibits on the screen are showing snapshots of some of the allegations about purported Trump Org-Alfabank connections that were shared with the FBI by Sussmann. He provided technical data on thumb drives and accompanying narratives explaining the data

• Hellman says he concluded the allegations of a secret communication channel between the Trump Org & Alfabank did not hold water. “Whoever had written that paper had jumped to some conclusions that were not supported by the technical data,” he said.

• “There was not enough data there to make the conclusion there was a) any communication or b) secret communications between the Trump Organization and Russia,” Hellman said.

• Hellman says it would be “abnormal” that a presidential candidate would try to hide his communications with a Russian bank by labeling his domain with the name “Trump.” He also said if there were secret communications, Russia is a sophisticated player that could hide it

• Hellman said the information provided made broad and sweeping conclusions about whether any such communications existed between the Trump Org & Alfabank.

• “I did not feel that they were objective in the conclusions that they came to,” Hellman said, calling it “far-reaching” and saying it did not really make any sense.

• https://twitter.com/SarahNLynch/status/1526604204411854849?s=20&t=T0IVmP1X5dOyzjfvRnhqVw

by numberonepal