Verdict marks loss in special counsel John Durham’s three-year probe into government’s handling of allegations of Trump-Russia ties

After deliberating for about six hours, jurors found Mr. Sussmann not guilty Tuesday, in a rebuke to Mr. Durham’s three-year examination of how the U.S. government handled allegations of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the tumultuous presidential election. This month’s two-week trial laid bare lingering disagreements over what happened during that campaign, with prosecutors accusing Mr. Sussmann of attempting to inject the FBI into a partisan plot and Mr. Sussmann’s legal team accusing prosecutors of manufacturing a conspiracy out of limited evidence. The jury began deliberations on Friday afternoon, before the holiday weekend, and resumed on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Durham said in a written statement Tuesday, “While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service.”

Mr. Durham has obtained one guilty plea from a former FBI lawyer who admitted to altering a document used to justify surveillance of a former adviser to Mr. Trump. The special counsel has also charged a consultant with lying to the FBI about his sources for information, some of which the FBI used in support of its 2016 investigation. Mr. Durham’s prosecutors have said their investigation is continuing.

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