Having already produced thousands of pages of materials requested by grand jury subpoenas, they're all desperate to keep these remaining records secret. We can't help but think the information is damaging. How damaging might it be? Damaging enough for this fight.

We also can't help but believe Hillary for America, Fusion GPS, Sussmann, and the rest of them will lose this fight to keep these records secret. Here's a quick rundown of why (Durham's motion to compel goes into more detail on the legal arguments, if you're curious) Durham will likely get these documents and e-mails:

1. The actual work was political, not legal. Previous statements confirm that Fusion GPS was retained for political research, and not for "legal advice" or for the purposes of litigation. Fusion was hired to perform "political work" - specifically, "deep research on Trump." As Simpson and Fritsch wrote, Elias "loved" the Trump/Russia narrative and "Fusion's research team would soon be hired and given wide latitude to go where the story led it." As Durham observed, Fusion GPS wasn't providing legal advice when it met with Rodney Joffe or promoted the Alfa Bank allegations.
2. Fusion GPS shared its findings with the U.S. government and the press (related to #1). I won't provide all contacts, but will summarize some briefly. Christopher Steele met with the FBI in July 2016, and continued his contacts with them until he was terminated as a source for his contacts with David Corn. The FBI would later use Bruce Ohr as a conduit to Steele. Fusion GPS would meet with reporters leading up to the 2016 election and pressure newsrooms and reporters to publish the Alfa Bank hoax. Likewise, Sussmann would provide the Fusion GPS opposition research to reporters.
3. The "privilege" was always a pretext. In Fusion GPS's initial meeting with Marc Elias, he said "Fusion would only be reporting to him" for "legal reasons: if Fusion's communications were with a lawyer, they would be considered privileged and kept confidential." Elias then structured the retention agreement with Fusion GPS to be for "legal advice" - despite their conversation that Fusion GPS would be conducting opposition research. Or are we to believe that the mighty Marc Elias needs legal advice from Glenn Simpson and Christopher Steele?
4. While Hillary for America, et al. make sweeping generalities about legal services Fusion GPS provided, they did not address the communications and documents that are subject to Durham's motion to compel. The court will look at the emails/documents specifically and make his own judgment.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused London of a "direct provocation" after British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey encouraged Ukrainian forces to use UK-supplied weapons to attack targets inside Russia. Any attempts to do so would invoke an immediate response, the ministry warned in a statement on Tuesday.

"We want to emphasize that London's direct provocation of the Kiev regime to such actions, should they attempt to do so, will immediately lead to our proportional response. As we have warned, the Russian armed forces are on standby around the clock to retaliate with long-range high-precision weapons against decision-making centers in Kiev," the military warned.

The ministry went on to say that "advisers from one of the Western nations" located in these centers "won't necessarily be a problem" in Russia's decision-making regarding retaliatory measures.

...

The UK has been among the top arms suppliers of Kiev, pouring thousands of anti-tank missiles into the country ahead of the large-scale Russian military operation that kicked off in late February. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced an additional £100 million ($130 million) package of heavy weaponry for Kiev, which includes anti-aircraft weapons, drones, and various armored vehicles.

Moscow has warned the West against ramping up weapon supplies, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that the conflict has effectively turned into a "proxy war" waged by NATO against Russia. The country's military has repeatedly targeted depots where these supplies are amassed and will continue doing so, he said.

"These weapons will be a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces," Lavrov stated. "Warehouses, including in the west of Ukraine, have become such a target more than once. How else? NATO is essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy and arming that proxy. War means war."

Austin will announce that the six-day training of the first tranche of 50 Ukrainian artillerymen is wrapping up and the next set of soldiers begin training after that. The training is taking place outside Ukraine in another European host nation that wishes to remain anonymous.

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Zelensky reveals details of top-level US visit

Zelensky outlined that the talks lasted for more than three hours and described them as "reassuring and, what's also important, efficient."

The president said the sides agreed on "further steps to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces," and discussed sanctions on Russia.

"We must block all of Russia's capabilities to bypass sanctions. We provided our partners with a plan to increase sanctions against the Russian Federation," Zelensky said. He added that the proposal was devised by a group led by Andrey Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, and former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

Zelensky also said that international security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed. "I'm confident that the US can become the leader among the states that will be future guarantors of Ukraine's security," he said.

The State Department said diplomats will return to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine this week before moving back to Kiev "as soon as possible."

U.S. diplomats will return to Ukraine this week and the U.S. will announce more military aid to Ukraine after a high-profile meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and others in Kyiv on Sunday, according to Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, who traveled with the U.S. delegation.

"It was a very productive meeting, very engaging session, and we were very happy to have that opportunity," Austin said at a news conference early Monday. "We expressed our deepest condolences to the president for the loss of so many civilians" and for the loss of troops. He said U.S. officials discussed with Zelenskyy what will "enable us to win the current fight and also build for tomorrow."

Blinken said the battle for Kyiv is won and that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a failure when measured by Russian President Vladimir Putin's original goal, to "fully subsume Ukraine into Russia."

Putin never said anything of the kind; but this comment reveals just how brazen the lies coming out of the US establishment are.

The meeting with Blinken, Austin, and Zelenskyy also included Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ambassador Oksana Makarova, General Valerii Zaluzhny, head of presidential administration Andrii Yermak, and presidential aide Andrii Sybiyha.

Secretary Austin brought Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of Defense, and Lt. Gen. Randy George, his senior military aide. Tom Sullivan, deputy chief of staff for policy at State and the brother of Jake Sullivan, accompanied Blinken.

© Office of President Volodymyr ZelenskyySecretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken

President Biden will announce at 7 a.m. Eastern Monday that he is nominating a new ambassador to Ukraine: Bridget Brink. Brink, the current U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia, has decades of experience in the region, having previously served as deputy chief of mission in Tiblisi, Georgia, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

A senior U.S. Defense and State Department official told Fox News that the diplomats addressed the following issues.

Blinken will also announce $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 other U.S. allies, with $322 million to Ukraine, enabling the country to buy off-the-shelf weapons and ammunition from other countries that may have older non-standard (often Soviet made) weapons and ammunition that Ukrainians know how to use.

Countries that want to be party to this war, that is.

After the Zelenskyy meeting, Austin will announce that the six-day training of the first tranche of 50 Ukrainian artillerymen is wrapping up and the next set of soldiers begin training after that. The training is taking place outside Ukraine in another European host nation that wishes to remain anonymous.

Poland? Whoever it is, why are they afraid of revealing themselves if what they're doing is so righteous?

U.S. military officials are training Ukrainians on how to use 155 mm Howitzers, training soldiers who will in turn train other soldiers. Austin will also announce that the first 18 Howitzers are now in Ukraine, with another 7 currently being prepped for transit and another 72 to be sent in another package soon.

Twenty-plus defense ministers and chiefs of defense will meet with Austin and U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley in Ramstein, Germany, on Tuesday, April 26, about how to increase aid to Ukraine. The Ukrainian defense minister, Reznikov, will attend that meeting, as will NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"For all the Russian claims that they have control of Mariupol, they are not acting like an army that has control of Mariupol," a senior U.S. Defense official told Fox News.

Russia clearly does war differently, and many citizens who've come under Russia's control have a lot of good things to say about them.

Reporters who were traveling with Blinken and Austin, including Fox News' own Jennifer Griffin, had to wait in Poland on the Ukrainian border due to security concerns, but they spoke to U.S. commanders on the ground there about the situation.

Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski, the commander of V Corps, told Fox News that his corps is working with NATO partners to set up battle groups in all the NATO eastern front nations from Estonia to Bulgaria.

"Not just here in Poland, I think many of the countries are concerned about Russia's next steps, and are very pleased to have the U.S. military here working side by side helping them develop their capabilities and capacity," Kolasheski said. "Collectively us and them, our lethality, and so I think they are recognizing that Russia is currently and will be a threat in the future."

Maj. Gen. Chris LaNeve, commander of the 82nd Airborne who is commanding 4,700 soldiers in Poland attached to the Polish 18th Mechanized Brigade, told Fox News that every Polish military family is hosting a Ukrainian family.

"It's actually an honor to be paired with them," LaNeve said. "I'll tell you, I think some day when we can all look back and look back on what the Polish Army and the Polish people have done, almost every military member that I talk to in the Polish Army, in this area, has a Ukrainian family living with them."

"They've opened up their arms to people they never met before, they are living with them, sharing bread, they are very committed to helping," the general added. "And for me, it has been awe-inspiring to see and be part of."

Moscow has sent Washington a note demanding that the US stop supplying weapons to Kiev, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"Eight hundred million dollars - this is how much <...> [worth] of weapons will be sent to Kiev from Washington. That's a huge amount, and that does not contribute to any search for a diplomatic solution, or any settlement. Did we file a note? Yes, we stressed that the US plying Ukraine with weapons was unacceptable, and we demanded that these kinds of practices be stopped," he said.

The US has been "striving to push the stakes up and escalate the situation," Antonov said. "The goal is to prevent Russia, as [American] senators have been saying openly, from standing firm on its feet, and to bar Russia's interests from being respected or Russia's voice from being heard," the diplomat said.