- Clinton's former campaign manager said Clinton herself approved to leak uncorroborated info to press.
- In 2016, Slate published a story about a connection between Trump's organization and a Russian bank.
- Robby Mook said the campaign did not trust taking the info to the FBI and instead shared it with a reporter.
Hillary Clinton approved leaking uncorroborated information that there was a backchannel server connection between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank during the 2016 presidential campaign, her former campaign manager testified on Friday.
Robby Mook, Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign manager, testified in the federal trial of her former lawyer Michael Sussmann who has been accused of trying to "manipulate" the FBI in the run-up to the 2016 election, Politico reported.
Mook testified that he discussed the leak of odd internet data showing communications between servers connected to the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, a Kremlin-linked financial institution, with Clinton, who approved of leaking the unproven conspiracy to the press.
He said he learned about the cyber activity that suggested a relationship between former President Donald Trump's organization and Alfa bank during a meeting with senior campaign officials, CNN reported.
"We discussed it with Hillary," Mook said, adding that "she agreed with the decision."
A campaigner staffer passed the information along to a Slate reporter, and Mook said the campaign was hoping they'd "vet it out" and write "what they believe is true," CNN reported.
Clinton's campaign had previously said it did not authorize any lawyers to take that information to the FBI, Politico reported.
According to Politico, Mook testified that he would have opposed taking those allegations to the FBI and instead took the information to the press.
"We did not trust them," Mook said about the FBI. "Two or three of probably the most damaging days of the campaign were caused by James Comey, not by Donald Trump. ... We just did not want to have anything to do with the organization at that time."
Sussmann, who is on trial for a felony false-statement charge, is accused of not disclosing his Democrat links when he filed evidence with the FBI allegedly showing suspicious internet traffic connecting the Trump Organization to Alfa Bank. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty in the trial.