Judge won't dismiss charge against former Clinton lawyer for lying to FBI

April 13 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that a special prosecutor can continue to investigate a lawyer who previously worked on Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper denied a motion to dismiss the single charge against former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who is accused of making false statements to the FBI.

Sussmann is accused of lying to the FBI about his ties to Clinton in 2016. He filed the motion in February to have the charge dismissed.

Special counsel John Durham indicted Sussmann in September for allegedly not telling the FBI he was acting on the behalf of the Clinton presidential campaign when he gave evidence to the bureau.

During that interview, Sussmann gave federal investigators evidence he said connected the Trump Organization with Kremlin-linked Alfa Bank via a computer back channel.

The legal firm Sussmann worked for at the time, Perkins Coie, was under retainer by the Clinton campaign.

Under special counsel Robert Mueller, the FBI investigated the alleged links between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank and determined there wasn't enough evidence of a secret back channel. Both companies have also denied any collusion.

Sussmann has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Former Attorney General William Barr originally appointed Durham in 2020 to investigate the origins of the Justice Department's two-year investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"The battle lines thus are drawn, but the court cannot resolve this standoff prior to trial," the judge wrote in his decision.

"Court is unable to make that determination as to this alleged statement before hearing the government's evidence. Any such decision must therefore wait until trial."

The trial is set to begin in May.