Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News

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On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted attorney Michael Sussmann on a charge of lying to the FBI during the 2016 Presidential campaign.

The crux of the case hinges on if Sussmann was acting in his capacity as a representative of the campaign of former nominee Hillary Clinton and, if so, whether he divulged this to FBI investigators when he presented evidence of a link between a Russian company and then-Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

In the indictment, the full text of which can be read here, prosecutors argue Sussmann, at the time an attorney at Perkins Coie, told investigators he was not acting as a representative of a client when, in fact, he communicated with the FBI in his capacity as an attorney for the Clinton campaign and a tech executive whose name was not listed. 

This charge is part of Special Counsel John Durham’s broader investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. 

Shortly after the indictment was announced, Sussmann’s attorneys, Michael Bosworth and Sean Berkowitz, issued a statement in which they claimed the charges were without merit and motivated by partisanship.

“Michael Sussmann was indicted today because of politics, not facts,” the statement reads. “The Special Counsel appears to be using this indictment to advance a conspiracy theory he has chosen not to actually charge.  This case represents the opposite of everything the Department of Justice is supposed to stand for. Mr. Sussmann will fight this baseless and politically-inspired prosecution.”

Prosecutors, though, portray Sussmann’s actions as expansive, at best ethically murky, and done in coordination with the Clinton campaign.

Sussmann had brough forth documents that he claimed showed there was a back door connection between Russian bank and Trump servers, which the FBI ultimately found no evidence to support. 

The state claims that in 2016 Sussmann worked with the tech executive, cyber researchers, and an investigative firm to assemble the evidence that Sussmann provided to the FBI and media.  According to the indictment, the researchers were, among other things, tasked with mining internet data, some public and some acquired through the tech executive’s connections, for cherrypicked evidence that could be used to create a narrative that tied Trump to Russia.

The indictment also alleges that when Sussmann presented his evidence without disclosing these contextualizing facts, he cheated the FBI of its chance to fully assess the value of the evidence. 

“Sussmann’s false statement misled the FBI General Counsel and other FBI personnel concerning the political nature of his work and deprived the FBI of information that might have permitted it more fully to assess and uncover the origins of the relevant data and technical analysis, including the identities and motivations of Sussmann’s clients,” the indictment reads.

Sussmann pleaded not guilty to charges on Friday