Former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann was found not guilty of lying to the FBI by a federal jury on Tuesday.
In 2016, Sussmann presented the FBI with allegations claiming there was a secret communications channel between former President Donald Trump’s organization and a Russian bank. Special Counsel John Durham subsequently charged Sussmann last year with one count of lying to the FBI, and the prosecution argued during the trial that the case could be summed up as “a look, a leak and a lie.”
The federal jury began deliberations on Friday after hearing from an array of witnesses, including current FBI officials. In total, jury deliberations lasted six hours over the course of two days, according to CNN.
Special Counsel John Durham departs the U.S. Federal Courthouse with prosecutors and staff after opening arguments in the trial of Attorney Michael Sussmann, where Durham is prosecuting Sussmann on charges that Sussmann lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while providing information about later discredited allegations of communications between the 2016 presidential campaign of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia, in Washington, U.S. May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
During the trial, former FBI general counsel James Baker expressed “100%” confidence that Sussmann told him the tip he provided was not on behalf of any campaign or client. Durham accused Sussmann of providing the tip to the FBI while keeping secret his connection to Clinton’s campaign.
Durham’s team also laid out the argument that Sussmann tried to “create an October surprise on the eve of the presidential election,” according to Law and Crime.
BREAKING: Jury finds DC lawyer Michael Sussmann NOT GUILTY on charge of lying to the FBI – big loss for special counsel John Durham in 1st trial of his more than three-year investigation.
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) May 31, 2022
Sussmann, however, has maintained that he presented the tip to the FBI in”good-faith,” CNN reported. Sussmann also denied trying to hide his ties to the Clinton campaign, according to the network.
The acquittal is a blow to Durham, who has spent years diving into the Trump-Russia probe, CNN reported. It’s also Durham’s first trial amid his three-plus year investigation, ABC News reporter Alex Mallin tweeted.