On Tuesday, jurors will return in Washington, D.C. to discuss the fate of Michael Sussmann aEUR”, and the legacy of John Durham, Justice Department special counsel.
Sussmann is accused of lying to FBI about whether he was working for a client with Democratic Political Interests when he brought up the bureau allegations about possible links between the Trump Organization and a Russian Bank shortly before the 2016 election. Prosecutors claimed that Sussmann planned to use the FBI, major news outlets and the FBI to deliver an October surprise to Hillary Clinton. This would have been against the former President Donald Trump.
This case, closely watched by the public, is Durham’s first courtroom trial. Durham, a former Attorney General Bill Barr appointed Durham to investigate the origins and conduct of FBI probes into Trump and Russia. His three-year-long investigation has not revealed any evidence of FBI wrongdoing. In this case, however, the FBI is the victim.
The trial opened when Judge Christopher Cooper informed prospective jurors that they would never re-litigate 2016’s presidential election. However, testimony from Clinton’s campaign manager, general counsel, and a number of ex-FBI officials whose work was criticized by Trump helped to cast political shadows over the case.
During the two week trial, lawyers for the Clinton campaign and Sussmann’s old law firm, as well as former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, lined up to get a seat in courtroom. Craig was acquitted in the same courthouse three year ago for his lobbying work regarding Ukraine.
Friday’s closing arguments saw Jonathan Algor tell jurors that Sussmann was not really concerned about Russian interference after he attempted to whistleblower about unusual connections between Trump and Alfa Bank.
It wasn’t about national safety. Algor stated that it was about supporting opposition research on Donald Trump.
Algor claimed that the circumstantial evidence in the single-count case is “overwhelming.” This includes Sussmann’s legal billing records and calendar entries, as well as his testimony before a congressional panel in December 2017.
James Baker, former FBI general counsel, was the key witness in Durham’s case. He met with Sussmann on September 2016. Baker did not take any notes during the meeting, and has given conflicting accounts of what Sussmann said about clients. Baker claimed that he had looked through his text messages months before the trial and found important lines from Sussmann. He said that he was coming on his own aEUR, not for a client or company.
Sussmann is only charged with making a false statement at the meeting and not in the text messages. Prosecutors cited it as an essential clue.
Andrew DeFilippis, the prosecutor, stated that “Under the law no one has the license to lie to FBI.” This case is not about politics. It’s not about conspiracies. It’s all about truth.
Baker, a witness at the hearing, testified that he was 100% certain that Sussmann claimed he went to FBI alone during the meeting. The defense team pointed out several inconsistencies. They also questioned whether the FBI would have been interested in the matter. They claimed Baker said he couldn’t recall things 116 times throughout the trial.
Sean Berkowitz, defense attorney, stated that “the case is over beyond a reasonable doubt if you don’t believe Mr. Baker’s memory.”
Berkowitz stated that Baker and two other FBI witnesses were under investigation at some point. He also said that they had motives to “refresh their memories” to gain favor with the special counsel.
Berkowitz stated that “Opposition research” is legal. Berkowitz stated that if it was, Washington, D.C. would be overflowing with prisoners.
He called the case of the government “smoke and mirrors, noise” but said that it should never have been brought.
Sussmann chose not to testify on his behalf. He only brought in a handful of witnesses, including two former DOJ employees who spoke out about Sussmann’s deep family ties as well as his integrity. After the indictment, he quit his job at Perkins Coie and has not been back to work as he prepares for trial.
It’s unclear if Sussmann will be sentenced by the Washington, D.C.-based juries.
On Friday, Judge Cooper informed jurors that they weren’t to think about how the defendant would be punished during deliberations. He said that this was a job for him.
