Trial of Clinton Lawyer Michael Sussmann Starts on Monday

The trial of Michael Sussmann, former lawyer to Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign, begins on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with Judge Christopher Cooper presiding. Sussmann is charged with lying to the FBI as part of Special Counsel John Durham's three-year probe of the Trump-Russia investigation.

In September 2016, Sussmann allegedly told FBI General Counsel James Baker that he was not doing work for any client when he requested a meeting to present "white papers" and "purported data" that showed covert communcations between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has ties to the Kremlin. John Durham's prosecution team is attempting to cast Sussmann's actions as part of a dirty smear campaign to spur an FBI investigation using political opposition research.  The FBI looked at Sussmann's evidence and found nothing to support the allegations.  But Sussmann's trial will be the first opportunity for John Durham and his team to litigate questions such as: was this a political hit job, as former President Donald Trump has claimed, or a threat to national security?  The trial is expected to last two weeks.