(CNN)Special counsel John Durham, who has been investigating the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia probe, ignited a firestorm in right-wing circles last weekend with a cryptic court filing.
The new filing fleshed out the case against Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign who was charged with lying to a top FBI official during a meeting about then-candidate Donald Trump's connections to Russia. In the filing, Durham suggested Sussmann's allies "exploited" government databases to snoop on the Trump White House.
This triggered a tsunami of coverage from pro-Trump outlets, and outrage from Republican lawmakers and Trump himself -- all of it rife with distortions, false claims and misinformation.
In a rebuttal filing Monday, Sussmann's lawyers said Durham was wrong about critical facts. His lawyers say the data was properly obtained and predated Trump's presidency. They also accused Durham of deliberately ginning up a false narrative for right-wing media.
Cyber researchers involved have said they are apolitical actors who were concerned about the national security implications of the data they uncovered. They also say Durham is cherry-picking their emails to make it look like they fabricated an unfounded narrative about Trump and Russia.
Here's a full breakdown of the latest twists and turns, in a saga that started over five years ago.
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