Clinton campaign lawyer found not guilty of lying to FBI
Fox News' David Spunt reports on the outcome of Michael Sussmann's trial, and 'Outnumbered' panelists provide reaction and analysis.
The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway isn’t surprised that a jury on Tuesday found Michael Sussmann not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI after a two-week trial that was largely ignored by the mainstream media that she blasted as "coconspirators" for looking the other way.
"I think many people anticipated that the D.C. jury would not convict Sussmann," Hemingway told Fox News Digital shortly after the verdict was announced. The veteran journalist is a longtime critic of the sprawling Russia investigation, which concluded in 2019 and found no evidence of coordination or conspiracy between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia after years of feverish media speculation.
Sussmann was charged with making false statements to the FBI in September 2016 when he said he was not working on behalf of any client, when he brought information alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank. The jury found that Special Counsel John Durham’s team had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Sussmann’s statement was a lie, and that he was, in fact, working on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and technology executive Rodney Joffe when he brought two thumb drives and a white paper alleging a Trump-Russia connection.
Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway offers instant reaction to Michael Sussmann being found not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI.
MICHAEL SUSSMANN FOUND NOT GUILTY OF CHARGES BROUGHT BY SPECIAL PROSECUTOR JOHN DURHAM
The jury included one federal government employee who told the judge they donated to Democrats in 2016 and another government employee who told the judge they "strongly" dislike former President Trump. Both of those jurors told the judge they could be impartial throughout the trial. One juror had a child who was on the same high school sports team as Sussmann's child.
Despite the not guilty verdict, Hemingway feels the trial was essential to helping the American people understand the importance of what the Durham probe has uncovered.
"The evidence that came out in testimony and documentation confirms an elaborate conspiracy to undermine the American electoral process and system of government," Hemingway said. "Regardless of what the verdict is, this is a really important thing for the country as we begin to get to the place where people may someday be held accountable for what was done."
Hemingway believes that testimony confirmed that "the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, along with their allies in the corporate media and also with unethical bureaucrats, ran a hoax against the American people."
The jury on Tuesday found Michael Sussmann not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
"It is the greatest political scandal, perhaps in the entire history of the country," she said. "It was a massive undertaking and getting to know some of these facts is really important for the American people."
The trial was downplayed or flatly ignored by many of the mainstream media organizations that pushed the since-debunked Russian collusion narrative at every turn. MSNBC, ABC News, NBC News and CBS News even ignored bombshell testimony in which former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook testified Clinton approved the dissemination of materials to the media alleging a secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and the Russian bank, despite campaign officials not being "totally confident" in the legitimacy of the data.
MICHAEL SUSSMANN TRIAL: ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC IGNORE CASE AT CENTER OF TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE
The jury found that Special Counsel John Durham’s team had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Sussmann’s statement was a lie. (REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson)
"The media hid this story after promulgating the Russiagate hoax because they are coconspirators in this operation," Hemingway said, noting that she doesn’t expect liberal news outlets to suddenly take notice even after the not guilty verdict.
"Nothing has exposed the corruption of our corporate media as much as the entire Russiagate scandal from their participation in it, to their cover-up of it now," Hemingway added. "The facts in the trial were so bad for them, and for their coconspirators, that they will probably either hide it or just continue to lie about the basic facts of this situation."
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CNN and MSNBC both covered the acquittal on Tuesday in its immediate aftermath, with a CNN chyron framing it as a significant setback to the Durham investigation. On MSNBC, legal analyst Joyce Vance said the Durhan investigation smacks of "sour grapes."
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
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