After Ignoring Trial, Nets Gloat Over Michael Sussmann’s Acquittal

In one of the most outrageous examples of leftist media bias, ABC’s World News Tonight CBS Evening NewsReporting on the Durham/Sussmann trial was finally decided upon Michael Sussmann’s acquittal of lying to FBI. The trial was still being covered by both networks. It wasn’t until the Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer was found not guilty by a corrupt Washington D.C. jury that they decided to take a victory lap. While NBC Nightly NewsThe jury verdict was not mentioned. 

You can find more information here World News Tonight, anchor David Muir gloated about the “major defeat” for special counsel John Durham before tossing to the network’s chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas.

For Thomas’s part, he joyfully reported the “Washington jury handing special counsel John Durham a stinging defeat, acquitting a lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton’s campaign of charging that he lied to the FBI.” 

Providing background information on the case that ABC had kept their viewers in the dark on, Thomas reported how “federal prosecutors had claimed that just before the 2016 election, the lawyer, Michael Sussmann, misled the FBI when he passed along a tip that computers in Trump Tower were communicating with a Russian bank.” But noted, “Durham’s team insisted Sussmann was secretly acting as an operative of the Clinton campaign.” 

Ending his report, Thomas snarked that Trump supporters hoped that “Durham would uncover some explosive revelations to back that up. Three years later that still has not happened.” Adding “Durham has been investigating the origins of the Russia probe for more than three years. We are still awaiting the final report.”

Over on CBS, anchor Norah O’Donnell briefly mentioned the jury’s verdict to her confused viewers who probably had no clue the trial was going on since CBS had kept them in the dark: 

John Durham, special counsel in the investigation of FBI’s Trump Russia probe’s origins suffered a significant blow today. Federal jurors found Michael Sussmann (a lawyer who had ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign) not guilty of lying. He presented evidence that suggested a link between Donald Trump’s actions and Russia to the FBI. In the course of the three-year investigation, it was the first case that went to trial.

You can bet that if the outcome had gone the other way, all three networks would have continued their complete blackout of John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump/Russia hoax. 

The network’s disgraceful lack of coverage of the Durham/Sussmann trial was made possible by Liberty Mutual on ABC, Nature’s Bounty on CBS, and Ensure on NBC. They are linked. 

To read the relevant transcripts click “expand”:

ABC’s World News Tonight
5/31/2022
Eastern at 6:46:34 

DAVID MURIR: Washington Tonight, it was a huge defeat for Trump’s special counsel who is being appointed by him to examine the Russia origins investigation. Today, a jury found that a lawyer linked to Clinton’s campaign and accused of lying about FBI records was innocent. Pierre Thomas is our chief justice reporter.

PIERRE THOMAS: It was the first trial of a case brought by the man hand-picked by President Donald Trump’s Attorney General to examine the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s possible ties to Russia. A Washington jury handed John Durham, the special counsel of Trump, a devastating defeat. It acquitted John Durham, who had ties to Hillary Clinton’s campaigns and was charged with lying to FBI agents.

MICHAEL SUSSMANN

THOMAS. Federal prosecutors stated that Michael Sussmann was a federal prosecutor who claimed to have misled FBI agents when he reported that Trump Tower computers were in communication with a Russian bank. Durham’s team claimed that Sussmann was acting in secret as an agent of Clinton. Sussmann said that, although he did not tip the FBI, he just wanted to be a good citizen. 

SUSSMANN: I am relieved that justice prevailed in my case, despite being falsely charged. 

(…)

THOMAS THOMAS : Trump and his supporter insist the Russia investigation was an elaborate hoax that was intended to damage his presidential campaign. They had hoped Durham would provide some evidence to support their claims. It has been three years since that happened. Durham spent more than three decades investigating the Russia probe’s origins. The final report is still to be received. He stated that although he was disappointed with the verdict of jury, he respects their decision. David? 

CBS Evening News
5/31/2022
Eastern at 6:49:52 

NORAH O’DONNELL: Special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Trump Russia investigation suffered a major blow today. The FBI was not able to prove Michael Sussmann’s guilt of lying to them by a federal jury. He is a lawyer connected to Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the 2016 presidency. He presented evidence that suggested a link between Donald Trump’s actions and Russia to the FBI. In the course of the three-year investigation, it was the first case that went to trial.