The first trial connected to special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the discredited Trump-Russia collusion narrative is slated to start Monday, May 16, as former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann faces charges that he lied to the FBI in 2016.
Sussmann is accused of misrepresenting who he was working for—Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee—when he spoke to then-General Counsel James Baker, telling Baker that he wasn’t working on behalf of any client when he provided information to the FBI suggesting that there was a secret backchannel between a Russian bank and the Trump Organization. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty, while his lawyers have said in court filings that Durham’s probe is politically motivated.