- The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Former President Trump railed against the legal system and judges in a bitter statement released Tuesday after Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann was found not guilty of lying to the FBI.

Mr. Trump aimed at some of his favorite targets, including the Biden administration, immigration and election integrity, in a short but scathing post on his social media site, Truth Social.

“Our legal system is corrupt, our judges (and Justices!) are highly partisan, compromised or just plain scared, our borders are OPEN, our Elections are Rigged, Inflation is RAMPANT, gas prices and food costs are ‘through the roof,’ our Military ‘Leadership’ is WOKE, our Country is going to HELL and Michael Sussmann is not guilty. How’s everything else going? Enjoy your day!!!,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Earlier Tuesday, a federal jury in Washington acquitted Mr. Sussmann of one count that he lied to the FBI in 2016, while pitching an anti-Trump conspiracy theory linking the Trump Organization to Russia’s Alfa Bank.

Prosecutors said Mr. Sussmann lied to FBI lawyer James Baker during a meeting to pitch the Alfa Bank theory when he said that he was not there on behalf of any client. They said he was acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign in a bid to sabotage Mr. Trump’s White House bid.

But the jury didn’t see it that way, finding Mr. Sussmann not guilty after roughly six hours of deliberation.

During the trial, it was revealed that Mrs. Clinton herself personally approved of sharing the Alfa Bank allegations with the media, even though the campaign hadn’t vetted the claims.

After a four-month investigation, the FBI concluded the Alfa Bank allegations were meritless. Special Counsel Robert Mueller also concluded there wasn’t any truth to the claims.

The Sussmann case had been brought by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by Trump-era Attorney General William P. Barr. Mr. Trump had praised Mr. Durham, predicting his probe would reveal all sorts of misconduct by the FBI and the Clinton campaign.

“Hats off, because it’s coming out and it’s coming out a level — Durham has come out with things that are absolutely amazing,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News in late 2021. “We all sort of knew that happened, and now we have the facts, and I think they’re only going to get deeper and deeper — and it all leads back to the Democrats, Hillary and the dirty lawyers.”

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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