• Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann was found not guilty of lying to the FBI.
  • The verdict is a major blow to the John Durham's three-year investigation.
  • The DC federal jury deliberated for six hours in order to make this decision.

Attorney Michael Sussmann, a onetime lawyer for the Hillary Clinton campaign, was acquitted on Tuesday of lying to the FBI, delivering a blow to special counsel John Durham's investigation.

The Washington DC jury deliberated for six hours to reach the verdict. Durham is investigating the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation. Prosecutors accused Sussmann of lying to the FBI during a meeting with the federal agency about former President Donald Trump's connection to Russia during the 2016 presidential elections, but legal observers have observed the evidence against Sussmann was "quite weak."

 

Durham said in a statement that he was disappointed with the verdict but added that "we respect the jury's decision and thank them for their service."

"I also want to recognize and thank the investigators and the prosecution team for their dedicated efforts in seeking the truth and justice in this case," Durham said.

Trump and his allies have tried to use the Sussmann case to falsely claim that Trump was illegally surveilled and a link to Russian contacts was fabricated. But as Insider's C. Ryan Barber has reported, legal experts called the evidence against Sussmann thin, with one saying it would be "remarkably difficult" for prosecutors to prove their case. 

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