The nation waited as Special Counsel Robert Mueller III worked his way through his investigation into Russia corrupting the 2016 presidential election and Donald Trump’s activities. Then, Attorney General William Barr snatched the report out of the hands of Congress, poisoned the conversation about the report for over a month, and then refused to release Mueller’s evidence — even to Congress. Finally, though, people will get a look behind the whole investigation.
The special counsel warned that he would not be a good witness, and he was true to his word. Mueller is a Marine and a public servant who follows the rules. The House Judiciary Committee wandered throughout the morning hearing, and instead of having a strong baritone voice, Mueller sounded weak. Then, the House Intelligence Committee supported Mueller in a more productive manner, but by then, it was too late.
The special counsel released its redacted findings in a report well over 400 pages long. It was too dense and too filled with legal jargon for the general public. The nation’s interest waned — until now.
A top prosecutor on Mueller’s team, Andrew Weissman, has a publisher for a book he is writing, Random House. The title is Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation, and it is scheduled for release on September 29. Weissmann is the first one of the prosecutors to go public. The inside account will explain how the investigation worked.
Weissman is one of the most central characters in the investigation, so he has a unique and broad perspective. He is especially familiar with the case against Donald Trump’s friend and one of his campaign chairmen, Paul Manafort. The attorney is not part of the team that investigated Trump’s obstruction of justice.
As one of the special counsel’s top people, Weissmann will probably reveal a great deal more. The question still remains: why the team decided to stay away from Trump committing a “criminal obstruction-of-justice offense?”
The attorney has often been criticized by those who support Trump. However, Random House is calling the book “a meticulous account of the Mueller team’s probe and its ongoing battles with the Trump administration.”
As a former Justice Department official, he is not the first to release a book. Others who have done so are, according to The New York Times
‘[B]est-selling memoirs [have been written] by the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and the former deputy F.B.I. director Andrew G. McCabe. Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey in May 2017, prompting law enforcement officials to open an investigation into whether he was trying to obstruct the Russia inquiry.’
Mueller ran his investigation with an iron fist, remarkably without one leak. Just recently, he wrote one of his first communication of any kind, an op-ed in the New York Times. He also held a news conference last month. Mueller repeated said that he wanted the report to speak for itself, and if did — if people speak legalese.
Weissman is well known:
‘[For his] aggressive prosecutorial tactics and for gain defendants’ cooperation in complex cases involving organized crime and financial fraud. His most notorious targets included the Genovese crime family in New York and executives involved in the Enron accounting fraud scandal.’
Weissmann has often been the target of criticism from Trump supporters. Random House said that his account from the inside of the Mueller team’s investigation and its ongoing battles with the Trump administration will keep readers enthralled.
Weissmann released a statement, WUSA reported:
‘I felt it was necessary to record this episode in our history, as seen and experienced by an insider. This is the story of our investigation into how our democracy was attacked by Russia and how those who condoned and ignored that assault undermined our ability to uncover the truth. My obligation as a prosecutor was to follow the facts where they led, using all available tools and undeterred by the onslaught of the president’s unique powers to undermine our work.’
Then, the attorney continued:
‘I am deeply proud of the work we did and of the unprecedented number of people we indicted and convicted — and in record speed. But the hard truth is that we made mistakes. We could have done more. “Where Law Ends” documents the choices we made, good and bad, for all to see and judge and learn from.’
Weissman failed to get Manafort to cooperate after he violated his plea agreement multiple times by lying to federal investigators. The attorney left the team right before the Mueller report came out. He is now a member of New York University (NYU) law faculty. Heis also “a senior fellow with the school’s Center on the Administration of Criminal Law.”
Americans had a few things to say about this travesty. Check out how they responded to the Mueller investigation below:
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
