WASHINGTON—A Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer aimed to influence the 2016 presidential election when he conveyed allegations about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russia to the FBI, U.S. prosecutors said on May 17.
Michael Sussman, the lawyer, and others were hoping to create an “October surprise” by “using and manipulating the FBI,” Brittain Shaw, a prosecutor with Special Counsel John Durham’s team, said during opening arguments in Sussmann’s trial.
The government’s goal is to prove Sussmann lied to FBI general counsel Jim Baker when he provided documents alleging a link between Trump’s business and a Russian bank during a Sept. 19, 2016 meeting at the FBI’s headquarters…