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Politics

Michael Sussmann indicted, pleads not guilty in alleged FBI lie

By
Steven Nelson
Published Sep. 17, 2021
Updated Sep. 17, 2021, 2:57 p.m. ET

A former rep for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign who is accused of duping the FBI by hiding the reason he was sharing a tip about Donald Trump’s links to Russia pleaded not guilty on Friday to a false-statement charge.

Attorney Michael Sussmann was indicted Thursday by special counsel John Durham for presenting himself as a “good citizen” when he offered the tip to undermine Clinton’s political rival, according to court records. However, he was secretly working for Clinton, Durham alleges.

Sussmann did not answer reporter questions as he left a federal courthouse in Washington, DC.

The September 2016 tip involved an apparent connection between the Trump Organization and Moscow’s Alfa Bank and was reported by Slate just before the election. Further review by tech experts indicated the supposed smoking-gun digital fingerprints were likely just the result of junk email.

Michael Sussman plead not guilty to lying to the FBI to conceal his motive.
Michael Sussman pleaded not guilty to lying to the FBI to conceal his motive. Jake Rosen Twitter

Trump and his allies allege that the FBI’s investigation of possible “collusion” between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign was a “witch hunt.” Special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, in 2019 said his team of investigators found no evidence of Trump conspiring with the Kremlin — only after rumors of the connection marred the first years of Trump’s presidency.

The FBI launched its Russia investigation during the 2016 campaign. The probe was opened by FBI official Peter Strzok, who, it later emerged, was swapping anti-Trump messages with his mistress, then-FBI attorney Lisa Page.

A salacious and unverified dossier financed by Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee was used to secure surveillance warrants against Trump adviser Carter Page.

Michael Sussman was a representative for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Michael Sussman was a representative for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As part of Durham’s review of the FBI’s Russia investigation, former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty last year to falsifying records submitted to the federal surveillance court. He doctored an email to secure an extension of the 2016 warrant on Page.

Sussmann faces up to five years in prison. Clinesmith, who also faced up to five years in prison, was sentenced to probation.