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Michael Sussmann

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Michael Sussmann
Born1964 (age 60–61)
Alma materRutgers University, Brooklyn Law School
OccupationsChair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice at Fenwick & West

Michael A. Sussmann (born 1964) is the Chair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice at Fenwick & West.[1] He is a former federal prosecutor and former partner at the law firm Perkins Coie, where he focused on privacy and cybersecurity law. Sussmann represented the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and retained CrowdStrike to examine its servers after Russian hackers penetrated DNC networks during the 2016 U.S. elections.

In September 2016, Sussmann met with FBI General Counsel James Baker to present data alleging communications between Alfa-Bank servers and the Trump Organization.[2] In 2021, Special Counsel John Durham indicted Sussmann for making a false statement, alleging he told Baker he was not acting on behalf of any client when he was representing the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.[2] Sussmann pleaded not guilty and was acquitted by a jury in May 2022.[3]

Early life and education

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Sussmann grew up in New Jersey, and attended Rutgers University and then Brooklyn Law School.[2]

Professional career

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Sussmann began his career as an associate at the law firm Proskauer Rose.[4] He went on to work for twelve years as a prosecutor at the U.S. Justice Department, eventually specializing in computer crimes. He was a special assistant in the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division, and was later appointed as senior counsel.[5] He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he focused on white-collar and violent crime.[4] He worked for Perkins Coie from 2005, where he was a partner in its privacy and cybersecurity practice,[2] until his resignation in September 2021.[6]

Response to Russian cyber attacks on DNC

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Main article: Democratic National Committee cyber attacks

On April 28, 2016, DNC CEO Amy Dacy informed Sussmann of a data breach. Sussmann then contacted Shawn Henry, CSO and President of CrowdStrike Services. CrowdStrike discovered that two Russian hacker groups, working independently of each other, had penetrated DNC networks and stolen information, including opposition research on Trump.[7] Other data security groups[8][9][10][11][12] and U.S. intelligence confirmed these findings.[13][14][15][16]

Durham special counsel investigation

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Main article: Durham special counsel investigation

In September 2021, Special Counsel John Durham indicted Sussmann on one count of making a false statement to the FBI. The indictment alleged that during a September 2016 meeting with FBI General Counsel James Baker, Sussmann stated he was not acting on behalf of any client when he presented data alleging communications between computer servers at Alfa-Bank and the Trump Organization. Durham alleged Sussmann was in fact representing the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.[2]

The FBI investigated the Alfa-Bank allegations and found them to be without merit; they were not referenced in the Mueller Report.[2]

In May 2022, Clinton's former campaign manager Robby Mook testified during the trial that Clinton had approved a plan to provide the Alfa-Bank allegations to the media.[17]

Baker's recollection of the September 2016 meeting evolved during the investigation. In 2019 and 2020 interviews, Baker did not state that Sussmann had explicitly denied representing a client. Durham prosecutors said Baker later "affirmed and then re-affirmed his now-clear recollection" after reviewing contemporaneous notes.[18] Sussmann's attorneys argued the evolving testimony undermined the indictment.

Sussmann pleaded not guilty. On May 31, 2022, a jury unanimously acquitted him after approximately six hours of deliberation.[3] Following the acquittal, Sussmann stated he had "told the truth to the FBI" and the jury "clearly recognized that."[3] His attorneys called the case "extraordinary prosecutorial overreach."[3]

In May 2023, Durham released his final report, which concluded the FBI had used "raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence" to open its investigation into the Trump campaign and had applied a different standard than when evaluating concerns about the Clinton campaign.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Michael Sussmann". Fenwick & West. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Savage, Charlie; Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael S.; Rashbaum, William K. (September 15, 2021). "Durham Is Said to Seek Indictment of Lawyer at Firm With Democratic Ties". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d Savage, Charlie (May 31, 2022). "Michael Sussmann Is Acquitted in Case Brought by Trump-Era Prosecutor". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b Kalmbacher, Colin (September 16, 2021). "Former Hillary Clinton Campaign Lawyer and Perkins Coie Partner Indicted in John Durham Probe". Law & Crime.
  5. ^ Bennett, Brian (May 31, 2022). "What You Need to Know about Trump, Alfa Bank and the Durham Case against Michael Sussmann". Time.
  6. ^ Smith, Patrick (September 16, 2021). "Michael Sussmann Resigns From Perkins Coie Amid Federal Indictment". Law.com.
  7. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (June 14, 2016). "Russian government hackers penetrated DNC, stole opposition research on Trump". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022.
  8. ^ Sanger, David E.; Corasaniti, Rick (June 14, 2016). "D.N.C. Says Russian Hackers Penetrated Its Files, Including Dossier on Donald Trump". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Alperovitch, Dmitri (June 15, 2016). "Bears in the Midst: Intrusion into the Democratic National Committee". From The Front Lines. CrowdStrike, Inc. Retrieved July 22, 2016. Note: Dmitri Alperovitch is a CrowdStrike co-founder, CTO, and cybersecurity expert.
  10. ^ Rid, Thomas (July 25, 2016). "All Signs Point to Russia Being Behind the DNC Hack". Motherboard. Vice Media. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Sanger, David E.; Schmitt, Eric (July 26, 2016). "Spy Agency Consensus Grows That Russia Hacked D.N.C." The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  12. ^ Knight, Nika (June 14, 2016). "'Cozy Bear' & 'Fancy Bear' Attack: Russian Hackers Infiltrate DNC Computers". Common Dreams. Portland, ME. Retrieved July 22, 2016. Note: This news article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
  13. ^ Entous, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen; Miller, Greg (December 9, 2016), "Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House", The Washington Post, retrieved December 10, 2016
  14. ^ Sanchez, Chris; Logan, Bryan (December 9, 2016), "The CIA says it has evidence that Russia tried to help Trump win the US election", Business Insider, retrieved December 10, 2016
  15. ^ Sommerfeldt, Chris (December 9, 2016), "Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the White House: report", New York Daily News, retrieved December 10, 2016
  16. ^ Sanger, David E.; Shane, Scott (December 9, 2016), "Russia hacked Republican committee but kept data, U.S. concludes", Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, retrieved December 10, 2016
  17. ^ Larson, Erik (May 20, 2022). "Hillary Clinton Approved Trump-Russia Leak to Media, Her Campaign Manager Says". Bloomberg.
  18. ^ Savage, Charlie (December 9, 2021). "More Evidence Muddles Durham's Case on Lawyer's Meeting With F.B.I." The New York Times.
  19. ^ "After 4-year probe, Durham report slams FBI for actions in 2016 Russia investigation". ABC News. May 15, 2023.
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