Washington DC jury acquits Hillary Clinton lawyer accused of lying to FBI

A Washington D.C. jury acquitted Michael Sussman, a former Hillary Clinton marketing campaign lawyer, of constructing false statements to the FBI Tuesday. This concludes a controversial 3-year investigation by Particular Prosecutor John Durham. Deliberation started final Friday and ended at 11:05am Tuesday, taking a complete of six hours.

Durham was appointed by former Lawyer Normal William Barr in October 2020 to analyze the US Justice Division’s probe into allegations that the Trump Presidential Marketing campaign colluded with Russia. Durham’s investigation led to the indictment and responsible plea of Igor Dachenko, who allegedly lied to the FBI in relation to sources for the Steele File which alleged collusion between the Trump Marketing campaign and Russia, together with different extra prurient claims.

After securing Dachenko’s responsible plea, Durham went on to indict Sussman in September 2021. Durham claims:

Sussman… met with the FBI Normal Counsel at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Sussmann had requested the assembly to supply the Normal Counsel with sure knowledge recordsdata and “white papers” that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel between the Trump Group and a Russia-based financial institution. Sussmann, who had beforehand represented the Democratic Nationwide Committee in reference to a cyber hack, falsely acknowledged to the Normal Counsel that he was not bringing these allegations to the FBI on behalf of any consumer… In actual fact, Sussmann assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of a minimum of two purchasers, together with a U.S. know-how government and the Clinton Presidential Marketing campaign. 

The weightiest piece of proof is a taxi reimbursement form filed by Sussman together with his regulation agency, which costs the agency for his journey to and from the assembly with the FBI. Durham alleges this exhibits that Sussman attended the assembly on his purchasers behalf.

Sussman’s lawyer, Sean M. Berkowitz, dismissed Durham’s claims as mere conspiracy, saying “[t]he time for political conspiracy theories is over. The time to speak concerning the proof is now.”

In a post-verdict statement, Sussman reiterated his innocence and praised the jury’s verdict. In the meantime, Durham expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying “whereas we’re disenchanted within the final result, we respect the jury’s resolution.”