probe into the russia probe
Grand jury indicts lawyer Michael Sussmann, a 'strange twist' in John Durham's Russia investigation
A grand jury has indicted Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer whose firm represented Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, for allegedly lying to the FBI during said campaign, The Wall Street Journal reports. The charges are in connection with special counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the FBI's Russia probe.
Sussmann has been charged with "making a false statement during a meeting" with FBI officials on the eve of the 2016 election, the Journal writes. More specifically, he allegedly "'lied about the capacity in which he was providing ... allegations to the FBI' of potential cyber links between a Russian bank and a company owned by former President Donald Trump," The Washington Post writes, per the indictment.
The charges mark a "strange twist" in Durham's probe, which is backed by Trump and his allies and "to date has resulted in a single conviction of a low-level FBI lawyer," notes the Post. Its purpose was to locate crimes that may have been committed by the FBI and the federal government, but by charging Sussmann, Durham is "in essence arguing that the FBI was the victim of a crime," per the Post.
Ahead of the indictment, Sussmann's team issued a statement insisting their client did not commit a crime: "We are confident that if Mr. Sussmann is charged, he will prevail at trial and vindicate his good name." Read more at The Washington Post.