The former top prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has found himself a new job in private practice. Andrew Weissmann is going back to a law firm where he was a partner almost a decade ago.
Jenner & Block said in a Wednesday press release that Weissmann will be back as of July 1.
Weissmann was a partner at the firm from 2006 to 2011. This time, per the press release Weissmann will “co-chair Jenner & Block’s Investigations, Compliance and Defense Practice, with a focus on counseling companies at the highest levels in both domestic and global investigations and litigation.”
In a statement, the firm’s co-managing partner Katya Jestin praised Weissmann’s skill and tenacity, calling him a “friend.”
“I am thrilled to welcome back my friend and colleague,” Jestin said. “I know of no more skilled trial lawyer or tenacious investigator. His creative thinking and unparalleled experience in corporate compliance and in [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] investigations will prove invaluable to our clients.”
The firm’s other co-managing partner Randy Mehrberg echoed that statement, calling Weissmann a “top-flight trial lawyer.”
“Andrew did groundbreaking work in the field of corporate compliance, both here and while leading the Fraud Section. His experience will help our clients mitigate the risks associated with government investigations,” Mehrberg said. “Andrew is also a top-flight trial lawyer, who notched many civil litigation victories during his prior tenure at Jenner & Block. Our corporate clients are delighted that he is returning to private practice.”
Weissmann himself said in a statement that he was “excited to come back home and look forward to helping clients and mentoring the next generation of Jenner & Block leaders.”
“When I first joined Jenner & Block, I was drawn to the firm’s combination of dedication to excellence, commitment to pro bono service by every firm lawyer, and the teamwork and collegiality demanded of its lawyers — from first-year associates to senior partners. I could not ask for a better environment in which to practice law,” he said.
Not everyone has heaped high praise on Weissmann, however.
Michael Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell, for example, has made her thoughts on Weissmann and the Mueller probe abundantly clear.
In a Feb. 2019 interview with RealClearPolitics, Powell said that “the entire Russia collusion narrative was made up,” adding that “the FBI and the intelligence community and the Department of Justice began an investigation against four American citizens simply because they worked for the opposition political candidate, that being Donald Trump.”
Powell is also the author of the New York Times best-seller, Licensed to Lie, Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice, a tell-all account. Powell’s website says her book “reveals the strong-arm, illegal, and unethical tactics used by headline-grabbing federal prosecutors in their narcissistic pursuit of power to the highest halls of our government.” She called Weissmann the “lead villain in this true legal thriller.”
“It’s terrifying–because it’s true,” the description continued.
Most recently, Weissmann wrote that he believes President Donald Trump has committed federal crimes while in office. He also commented on the issue of John Bolton’s potential testimony at the president’s impeachment trial, testimony that never actually happened.
[Image via MSNBC screengrab]