A Washington D.C. jury acquitted Michael Sussman, a former Hillary Clinton campaign attorney, of making false statements to the FBI Tuesday. This concludes a controversial 3-year investigation by Special Prosecutor John Durham. Deliberation began last Friday and ended at 11:05am Tuesday, taking a total of six hours.

Durham was appointed by former Attorney General William Barr in October 2020 to investigate the US Justice Department’s probe into allegations that the Trump Presidential Campaign colluded with Russia. Durham’s investigation led to the indictment and guilty plea of Igor Dachenko, who allegedly lied to the FBI in relation to sources for the Steele Dossier which alleged collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia, along with other more prurient claims.

After securing Dachenko’s guilty plea, Durham went on to indict Sussman in September 2021. Durham claims:

Sussman… met with the FBI General Counsel at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Sussmann had requested the meeting to provide the General Counsel with certain data files and “white papers” that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and a Russia-based bank. Sussmann, who had previously represented the Democratic National Committee in connection with a cyber hack, falsely stated to the General Counsel that he was not bringing these allegations to the FBI on behalf of any client… In fact, Sussmann assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two clients, including a U.S. technology executive and the Clinton Presidential Campaign. 

The weightiest piece of evidence is a taxi reimbursement form filed by Sussman with his law firm, which charges the firm for his travel to and from the meeting with the FBI. Durham alleges this shows that Sussman attended the meeting on his clients behalf.

Sussman’s lawyer, Sean M. Berkowitz, dismissed Durham’s claims as mere conspiracy, saying “[t]he time for political conspiracy theories is over. The time to talk about the evidence is now.”

In a post-verdict statement, Sussman reiterated his innocence and praised the jury’s verdict. Meanwhile, Durham expressed his disappointment with the verdict, saying “while we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision.”