Sussmann Acquitted of Lying to FBI in First Durham Probe Trial

A jury acquitted Clinton-linked attorney Michael Sussmann on Tuesday of lying to the FBI in the first trial to result from special counsel John Durham's investigation.

The jury deliberated on Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning after a two-week trial. It ultimately ruled that Durham’s team had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Sussmann lied in September 2016 when he told James Baker, then-general counsel to the FBI, that he was working on no one else’s behalf to inform the FBI of a suspected backchannel between the Trump campaign and a Kremlin-linked Russian bank. There were no witnesses or notes of the meeting, and the FBI — which was already investigating potential Trump-Russia connections — dismissed the Russian bank suspicions. 

Durham argued that Sussmann had actually been working on behalf of the Clinton campaign during the incident, pointing to his other work for the campaign and his attempts to bring the Russian bank story to the press. 

Coverage was widespread and prominently featured across the spectrum on Tuesday, often describing the verdict as a “setback” or a “major defeat” for the Durham probe. Several major right-rated outlets portrayed members of the jury as potentially biased against Trump, and a Washington Post (Lean Left bias) article highlighted a quote by the jury forewoman saying politics “were not a factor” in the verdict.