Michael Sussman was recently acquitted of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation when talking about the potential connection between former President Donald. J. Trump and Russia.
According to a May 31 New York Times article, the incident stems from 2016 when Sussman, a former federal prosecutor and cybersecurity attorney, was speaking to the FBI about irregularities in data he discovered involving Trump. The prosecution alleged he was untruthful about working for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. This was the first full trial originating from the Trump-Russia probe and Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by Trump three years ago, voiced his displeasure in the outcome, according to Fox News.
“While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service,” Durham said in a prepared statement. “I also want to recognize and thank the investigators and the prosecution team for their dedicated efforts in seeking truth and justice in this case.”
Sussman’s charge involved lying to the FBI during a 2016 meeting about links between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, according to a Business Insider report. Sussman was facing charges for telling former FBI general counsel James Baker that he was not acting on behalf of a specific client when showing him data that showed irregular internet activity connecting the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has been associated with the Kremlin. The prosecution asserted Sussman was acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign, but he did not reveal that he was working for them so his tip would be more credible.
According to Fox News, the government was represented by federal prosecutors Deborah Brittain Shaw, Andrew DeFillippis, Michael Keilty and Jonathan Edgar Algor IV. Representing Sussman were defense attorneys Sean Berkowitz, Michael Bosworth, Catherine Yao and Natalie Hardwick.
