LAWYER Michael Sussmann was acquitted on May 31, 2022, on charges alleging he lied to an FBI official. Sussmann was working for the Clinton campaign in 2016 when he told the FBI that there was a possible connection between former President Donald Trump and Alfa Bank in Russia. Who is Michael Sussmann? Michael Sussmann is […]
LAWYER Michael Sussmann was acquitted on May 31, 2022, on charges alleging he lied to an FBI official.
Sussmann was working for the Clinton campaign in 2016 when he told the FBI that there was a possible connection between former President Donald Trump and Alfa Bank in Russia.
Michael Sussmann is a former partner at Perkins Coie LLP where he worked as a cybersecurity prosecutor.
Prior to working at Perkins Coie, Sussmann worked for the Justice Department as senior counsel in the computer crime and intellectual property section of the criminal division.
He continued to work for Perkins Coie until 2021 when he resigned after he was indicted for allegedly lying to the FBI.
Perkins Coie said in a statement that Sussmann “offered his resignation from the firm in order to focus on his legal defense, and the firm accepted it,” Law.com reported.
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His indictment stemmed from a meeting with the FBI in September 2016.
Sussmann met with the FBI to give them information about allegations of secret communication between the Trump Organization and the Moscow-based Alfa Bank, according to a Justice Department press release.
Sussmann told the FBI he was not providing the information on behalf of his client, who at the time, was Hilary Clinton.
However, the FBI determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to confirm Sussmann’s allegations against Trump, according to the ABA Journal.
Sussmann was indicted in 2021 and charged with one felony count of making a false statement to the FBI.
The charges alleged that Sussmann’s statement to the FBI misled them and claimed he was reporting the information on behalf of his client.
Sussmann has repeatedly denied the charges.
His representatives, Sean Berkowitz and Michael Bosworth said in a statement that the charges against Sussmann were based on “politics, not facts” adding that Sussmann committed no crime.
“Stripped of its political bluster, innuendo, and irrelevant details, what is striking about the allegations in the indictment is how few of them actually relate to the charge the special counsel chose to bring,” the statement said.
“At its core, the special counsel is bringing a false statement charge based on an oral statement allegedly made five years ago to a single witness that is unrecorded and unobserved by anyone else.
“The Department of Justice would ordinarily never bring such a baseless case.”
Sussmann was acquitted of all charges by a 12-person jury on May 31.
The decision came as a blow to special counsel John H. Durham, who spent the last three years investigating Sussmann and two other individuals.
Durham was appointed by the Trump administration in 2019 to indict those who accused Trump of collusion with Russia.
Berkowitz and Bosworth said in a statement, “Michael Sussmann should never have been charged in the first place.
“This is a case of extraordinary prosecutorial overreach. And we believe that today’s verdict sends an unmistakable message to anyone who cares to listen: Politics is no substitute for evidence, and politics has no place in our system of justice.”
During the trial, Clinton campaign officials testified and said they did not authorize Sussmann to speak with the FBI, and doing so would have been detrimental to their campaign efforts.
They reasoned that they did not trust the bureau and said the FBI could have slowed down the publication of related news articles.
Following the acquittal, Durham said in a statement, “While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service.
“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.”
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The jury’s decision came as a relief to Sussmann who told reporters outside the courthouse, “I told the truth to the FBI, and the jury clearly recognized that with their unanimous verdict today.”
He said it has been a difficult time for him and his family, but said, “Despite being falsely accused, I’m relieved that justice ultimately prevailed in my case.”
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