WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats are doubtful Andrew Weissmann, a key prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, will be called to testify this week on the origins of the probe.
Weissmann helped Mueller lead the cases against former Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Democrats, however, appear to have more interest in hearing the testimonies of other witnesses on their list.
Weissmann is best known for securing indictments and convictions against top the officers of the Energy corporation Enron, as well as its accounting firm, Arthur Anderson. The Supreme Court, however, reversed the decision against Arthur Anderson, which had already gone bankrupt.
Additionally, Weissmann was formerly the Obama-era chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Fraud Section. Records show he donated $6,650 between 2006 and 2008 to the Clinton and Obama campaigns as well as the Democratic National Committee, The L.A. Times reported.
FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee July 26, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The hearing was held to examine whether the FBI have misused their power. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
According to U.S. Department of Justice records obtained by Judicial Watch last month through a FOIA request, text messages and calendar entries of Weissmann show he led the hiring effort for the investigation that targeted President Trump.
Additionally, the records detail that Weissmann interviewed and hired individuals for the Mueller team who had already made financial donations to Democrats including the Obama campaign or the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign.
These individuals included: former chief of the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York Andrew Goldstein, government lawyer Kyle Freeny, criminal fraud prosecutor Rush Atkinson, attorney Greg Andres, and U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Ronnie Abrams.
“These documents show Andrew Weissmann, an anti-Trump activist, had a hand in hiring key members of Mueller’s team – who also happened to be political opponents of President Trump,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These documents show that Mueller outsourced his hiring decisions to Andrew Weissmann. No wonder it took well over a year to get this basic information and, yet, the Deep State DOJ is still stonewalling on other Weissmann documents!”
Republicans believe that Weissmann’s influence carries more weight in the Mueller report than many realize.
Andrew Weissmann (Youtube/ New America)
“Andrew Weissmann is probably the main author and, certainly, the main influencer of the Mueller Report. His fingerprints are on every page except the ones favorable to the President,” North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows said.
Despite information Weissmann and other prosecutors on Mueller’s team could provide, Democrats on Capitol Hill seem more interested in Mueller’s testimony right now.
Rhode Island Democratic Rep David Cicilline dodged the question of whether Weissmann would be called to testify, saying, “I think there will be lots of additional witnesses. We began our investigation — the first hearing of the Mueller Report — yesterday. This is the first, the chairman said, in a series of meetings.”
Cicilline noted that Mueller himself will come before the House Judiciary Committee and that those discussions are ongoing.
Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin appeared to be doubtful that Democrats on the committee would call for Weissmann to appear to testify.
“I don’t know. We may or may not need him, but what we need to do is to tell a story that is dense with the facts of what happened.”
When pressed further about Weissmann’s influence and role in helping to craft the Mueller report, Raskin responded, “That may indeed be indicated, but I think the committee is settled on the importance of us having Mueller come in and tell the story to the American people.”
Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said of the possibility of bringing in Andrew Weissmann to testify, “We’re looking at all individuals who can be fact witnesses and be effective in detailing how they constructed what they saw and what their sense was.”
She later added, “We’ll leave the door open, [but] we want Mr. Muller to come at this time.” (RELATED: Nadler Expects Mueller To Testify ‘Way Before’ The End Of Summer)
Former Justice Department prosecutor Sidney Powell, author of “Licensed to Lie,” says she believes Mueller would be unable to provide information to lawmakers.
“I don’t see Mr. Mueller testifying. I really don’t. He can’t honestly answer most of the questions he would be asked and he has already said he’s refused to testify outside his report,” Powell told SiriusXM Patriot 125 last week.
Powell explained, “He’s got nothing to say. He didn’t write the report in the first place. He didn’t interview all the witnesses. He didn’t read those multi-million pages of documents or all the other stuff that they collected from their illegal searches.”
She added, “You know, he probably doesn’t even know the full content of the report. I would be surprised if he read the whole thing.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler announced Tuesday night that he will subpoena Mueller to appear before his committee before the summer ends.
Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125
