Michael Sussmann Trial Goes To Jury After Former Clinton Attorney Declines To Testify

Testimony in the case of former Hillary Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann wrapped up Friday after the defendant decided against taking the stand.

Special counsel John Durham’s team of prosecutors and Sussmann’s defense team made closing arguments on Friday morning before Judge Christopher Cooper handed the case over to the jury for deliberation. Sussmann is charged with one count of lying to the FBI during a September 2016 meeting with then-FBI general counsel James Baker.

Prosecutors told the jury that the evidence of Sussmann’s guilt is “overwhelming,” according to Politico.

“The defendant knew that he had to hide his clients if there was any chance of getting his allegations into the FBI,” assistant special counsel Jonathan Algor said. “It wasn’t about national security. It was about promoting opposition research against the opposition candidate Donald Trump.”

“There are sometimes close cases,” prosecutor Andrew DeFilippis added. “This is not even close to a close case.”

Defense attorneys portrayed Sussmann as a victim and said prosecutors were manipulating facts to make Sussmann appear guilty of a crime he never committed.

“The special counsel’s office bought a snow-making machine and blew that over the lawn, and they want you to think it snowed,” defense attorney Sean Berkowitz said, according to Fox News. The attorney described the prosecution’s case as “misdirection” and “smoke and mirrors.”

Berkowitz said Sussmann is a “serious national security lawyer who received what he believed to be credible data from a world-leadi... (Read more)

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