You Vote: Did the jury get it right by finding ex-Clinton campaign lawyer Sussmann not guilty?

Sussmann was accused of lying to FBI as part of wider investigation into the origins and conduct of the government's probe into alleged ties between Trump and Russia.

By Aaron Kliegman

Published: May 31, 2022 1:43pm

Updated: May 31, 2022 5:39pm

Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, was acquitted on a charge of providing a false statement to the FBI about his motives for bringing the agency information allegedly connecting Donald Trump to Russia.

The jury found Sussmann not guilty on Tuesday after deliberating in the morning and on Friday.

Last year, Special Counsel John Durham charged Sussmann with lying to the FBI while he was working as a private attorney and representing the Clinton campaign.

According to Durham's team, Sussmann falsely told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker at a September 2016 meeting that he was not working on behalf of any client in relaying research he claimed substantiated an alleged secret communications channel between the Russian Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization.

The material was "pure opposition research," and Sussmann wanted an "October Surprise" in the 2016 presidential race, prosecutors argued during the trial.

Sussmann, who faced up to five years in prison, pleaded not guilty, maintaining he provided information to the FBI based on genuine U.S. national security concerns.

Durham's prosecution of Sussmann was part of a wider investigation into the origins and conduct of the government's probe into alleged ties between Trump and Russia.

What do you think? Did the jury get it right by finding Sussmann not guilty? Here's your chance to weigh in: