Trump-era prosecutor’s case against lawyer goes to trial
WASHINGTON >> When the Trump administration assigned a prosecutor in 2019 to scour the Russia investigation for any wrongdoing, President Donald Trump stoked expectations among his supporters that the inquiry would find a “deep state” conspiracy against him.
Three years later, the team led by the special counsel, John Durham, will open the first trial today in a case their investigation developed, bringing before a jury the claims and counterclaims that surrounded the 2016 presidential campaign. But rather than showing wrongdoing by the FBI, the case portrays the bureau as a victim.
The trial centers on whether Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer with ties to Democrats, lied to the FBI in September 2016, when he relayed suspicions about possible cyberconnections between Trump and Russia. The FBI looked into the matter, which involved a server for the Kremlin-linked Alfa Bank, and decided it was unsubstantiated.
Fun over politics: Children swim in an inflatable pool that supporters of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri installed to illustrate their intention to boycott parliamentary elections, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday. Hariri, seen in poster, suspended his participation in Lebanese politics last year. Lebanese voted for a new parliament Sunday against the backdrop of an economic meltdown. A new crop of candidates from the 2019protest movement are running against the country’s entrenched ruling class.