Mueller team lawyer brings witness-flipping expertise to Trump probes

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

 http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/19/mueller-team-lawyer-brings-witness-flipping-expertise-to-trump-probes.html

• Andrew Weissmann is known for a skill that may come in handy in the investigation of Russian ties: persuading witnesses to turn on friends, colleagues and superiors.
• Securing the cooperation of people close to Trump could be important for Mueller, who is investigating whether Trump himself has sought to obstruct justice.

 

A veteran federal prosecutor recruited onto special counsel Robert Mueller's team is known for a skill that may come in handy in the investigation of potential ties between Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team: persuading witnesses to turn on friends, colleagues and superiors.

Andrew Weissmann, who headed the U.S. Justice Department's criminal fraud section before joining Mueller's team last month, is best known for two assignments—the investigation of now-defunct energy company Enron and organized crime cases in Brooklyn, New York—that depended heavily on gaining witness cooperation.

Securing the cooperation of people close to Trump, many of whom have been retaining their own lawyers, could be important for Mueller, who was named by the Justice Department as special counsel on May 17 and is investigating, among other issues, whether Trump himself has sought to obstruct justice. Trump has denied allegations of both collusion and obstruction.

 

"Flipping" witnesses is a common, although not always successful, tactic in criminal prosecutions.

Robert Ray, who succeeded Kenneth Starr as the independent counsel examining former President Bill Clinton, noted that Trump's fired former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, has already offered through his lawyer to testify before Congress in exchange for immunity, suggesting potential willingness to cooperate as a witness.

"It would seem to me the time is now to make some decisions about what you have and what leverage can be applied to get the things you don't have," Ray said, referring to Mueller's team.

Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others close to the president already have hired their own lawyers to help navigate Mueller's expanding probe and ongoing congressional investigations.