The Trump-Russia Probe's Special Counsel Has Charged A Lawyer With Lying To The FBI

A Washington attorney who specializes in cybersecurity issues has been indicted for allegedly lying to the FBI ahead of the 2016 election in a conversation about possible ties between Donald Trump and Russia.

Michael Sussmann, a former federal prosecutor who had worked at a law firm with longstanding links to the Democratic Party, is the second individual to be charged in special counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia probe.

Sussmann is facing a single false statements count in connection with a conversation he had with then-FBI general counsel Jim Baker on Sept. 19, 2016. In that meeting, Sussmann shared information about possible ties between a Kremlin-linked Russian lender, Alfa Bank, and a computer server at the Trump Organization.

The indictment alleges that Sussmann "lied about the capacity in which he was providing the allegations to the FBI."

Sussmann told Baker that he wasn't passing the information along at the behest of any client. But prosecutors allege he was providing the materials on behalf of a technology industry executive and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.