A Democratic-linked lawyer must face a charge that he lied to the FBI before the start of its Trump-Russia probe, a judge ruled, handing a victory to the special counsel probing the origins of the investigation.
Michael Sussmann’s motion to dismiss the criminal case against him was denied Wednesday in Washington by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled a jury would need to decide if his alleged lie was “material” to any decision made by the FBI — a key requirement for the charge to stick.
“The battle lines thus are drawn, but the Court cannot resolve this standoff prior to trial,” Cooper, an Obama appointee, wrote in a six-page ruling.
