The penalty for lying to Congress is up to five years in prison.
And, according to a recent report, President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was guilty of as much in December 2017.
This revelation came out thanks to the indictment of Michael A. Sussmann, a partner at the law firm that represented Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
As The Washington Post reported, special counsel John Durham indicted Sussmann on the charge of making false statements to the FBI regarding the motives of his clients when they planted the rumor that the Trump campaign had a secret server it was using to communicate with Russia’s Alfa Bank.
These claims were later investigated as part of the long-running Trump-Russia investigation that ended with the ruling that there had been no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
This initial rumor involving Alfa Bank originated with the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. It was then obtained by the Clinton campaign, who sent the false allegations forward to the FBI.
Here’s where the story ties back to Sullivan.
In December 2017, Sullivan told Congress that he had no idea that Fusion was involved in the Alfa Bank opposition research and “denied knowing anything about Fusion in 2016 or who was conducting the opposition research for the campaign,” according to Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations.
However, in Sussmann’s indictment, it was revealed that he, along with the cyber experts recruited to prove the Trump-Russia connection, “coordinated with representatives and agents of the Clinton campaign.”
Sperry further alleged that “sources close to the case confirmed” that Sullivan was among those campaign officials.
“They say [Sullivan] was briefed on the development of the opposition-research materials tying Trump to Alfa Bank, and was aware of the participants in the project,” he wrote.
In other words, Sullivan was a key player in the plot to spread a wild conspiracy theory involving Trump and Alfa Bank, a conspiracy theory he knew to be forwarded by an opposition research firm.
The very same conspiracy theory, in fact, that the Clinton campaign later fed to the FBI.
According to the report, Sullivan knew about the biased source of this information, despite telling Congress otherwise.
If the report is true, Sullivan broke the law.
He lied to Congress and was rewarded with a highly coveted seat in the Biden administration.
For those wondering if Sullivan will face the requisite consequences for his actions, don’t hold your breath.
Joe Biden tends to take care of his own.