US Attorney John Durham, the prosecutor appointed by Donald Trump and Attorney General Willlam Barr, leaves a federal courthouse in Washington, May 16, 2022 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Donald Trump’s attempted revenge over investigation of his ties to Russia — and his subsequent effort to obstruct justice — has fallen flat with the acquittal of a cybersecurity lawyer linked to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign.
The 12-member jury unanimously cleared Michael Sussmann of the charge of lying to the FBI as the agency investigated a claim about a connection between computer servers of the Trump Organization and of Russia’s Alfa Bank.
In 2019, soon after the Mueller Report set out the Trump-Russia links and at least eight cases with evidence of Trump’s obstruction or attempted obstruction of justice, Trump and Attorney General William Barr appointed US Attorney John Durham to investigate Government agencies and officials.
The intent was to reveal a “deep state” conspiracy against Trump. But three years later, Durham has developed only two cases. Apart from Sussmann, he is pursuing only a researcher involved in the Steele Dossier of Trump-Russia connections. That trial, also on a charge of making a false statement, is scheduled later this year.
Meanwhile, Trump — having escaped political or criminal consequences over the Russian links — still faces multiple investigations by Federal and state prosecutors. And a House select committee is continuing to assemble evidence over Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and his instigation of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, to prevent legislators from confirming Joe Biden as President.
“Justice Ultimately Prevailed”
The case against Mr. Sussmann stemmed from a discovery by cybersecurity researchers in autumn 2016 of data moving between the Trump Organization servers and those of Alfa Bank, whose leaders are connected with the Kremlin.
The Trump camp claimed that the data was only “marketing” e-mails, but the researchers questioned that assertion. The FBI briefly looked at the case but came to no conclusions.
Sussman spoke with a senior FBI official on September 19, 2016 about the claims. According to Durham’s team, Sussmann falsely said he was not acting on behalf of any client, concealing his work for the Clinton campaign and a technology executive.
The jury threw out that allegation, with the forewoman saying that she thought the prosecution of the case had been wise.
Sussmann said outside the Washington courthouse, “I told the truth to the FBI, and the jury clearly recognized that with their unanimous verdict today. Despite being falsely accused, I am relieved that justice ultimately prevailed in this case.”
Trump supporters, including Donald Trump Jr., railed that the jury was politically biased. The jury forewoman made clear that “politics were not a factor” in the verdict.
