Latest news with #AndrewWeissmann
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Prosecutor Says Probe Into Jack Smith Is Actually ‘Last Thing' Donald Trump Should Want
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann warned how President Donald Trump could seriously come to regret new efforts to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith. The Office of Special Counsel confirmed this weekend it has opened a probe into whether Smith violated the Hatch Act, a law that restricts political activity by federal employees, during his handling of the criminal cases brought against Trump. Republicans have demanded the investigation. Appearing on MSNBC, Weissmann suggested it lacked legal merit and questioned the logic behind the GOP's strategy. 'If they were actually to bring a case, this is the last thing that you would think the Trump administration and Trump himself would want,' said Weissmann, who served on Robert Mueller's special counsel team during the Russia probe. 'Trump spent years trying to avoid — and largely being successful at avoiding — any of these cases going to trial. And if he's going to have a trial here, that's going to be a forum for Jack Smith and people to put on the evidence that he has tried for so long to avoid,' he added. Weissmann's fellow panelists appeared to agree, nodding and smiling at his take. Watch here: Related... Kamala Harris Stuns Colbert With Candid Admission: 'To Hear You Say That… Is Harrowing' Watch MAGA Brains Break When Jordan Klepper Talks About Trump And Epstein Seth Meyers Spots The Exact Moment Trump Looked 'Actually Broken'
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump administration appeals Jenner & Block win over executive order
The Justice Department on Monday appealed a federal judge's order blocking President Trump's punitive executive order against the law firm Jenner & Block. The notice of appeal is the Trump administration's second such challenge to Big Law firms' legal victories against the orders that sought to undercut their business as retribution for ties to the president's political adversaries. The administration appealed Perkins Coie's win in the courts last month, meaning either could become an appeals court's first chance to weigh the directives. Jenner & Block was one of six law firms targeted by Trump. The firm previously employed Andrew Weissmann, a prominent Trump critic and legal pundit who worked on former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The orders cut off employees' security clearances and access to federal government facilities, while also directing the executive branch to review any contracts the government has with the firm, all in the name of 'addressing risks' to the country. U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, slammed Trump's order against Jenner & Block as an effort to 'chill legal representation the administration doesn't like' in his ruling finding the directive unlawful. He said such efforts insulate the executive branch from checks by the judiciary, which he called 'fundamental' to the separation of powers. The Trump administration has argued that it's within the president's discretion to decide with whom to trust the nation's secrets and that the order was designed to assuage his concerns about the firms. Four firms have filed legal action challenging Trump's orders: Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey. Judges ruled in the firms' favor in each of their legal challenges. Other firms, targeted or not, struck deals with Trump to be spared from executive action or accepted the penalty silently. Trump rescinded his order against the law firm Paul, Weiss after it agreed to dedicate equal to $40 million in pro bono legal services to support administration initiatives; eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and not deny representation to clients based on their political views. At least nine law firms followed suit, resulting in nearly $1 billion in promised free legal work on causes aligned with the administration in exchange for no orders. Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are investigating the deals. In a statement following the notice of appeal, Jenner & Block said Bates did not err. 'The district court correctly declared that Jenner's clients have a right to independent counsel and that the firm's right to represent clients vigorously and without compromise is sacred,' the statement posted to Jenner & Block's website reads. 'We look forward to confirming this on appeal.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Eggs sacrificed on Trump's cabinet's faces': Nicolle Wallace on Trump's DOJ mishaps
Andrew Weissmann, former top prosecutor at the Justice Department and Shane Harris, Staff Writer at The Atlantic join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House to discuss the new investigations opened up by Trump's Justice Department, a move to target Trump's perceived enemies for the work they did in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Election.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ex-Prosecutor Says This Ruling Just Helped Americans 'Connect The Dots' On Trump
Ex-prosecutor Andrew Weissmann on Friday reacted to a federal judge striking down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block because the order violated the First Amendment. 'It allows people to connect the dots,' said Weissmann, who was previously employed by the law firm and served as a prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller's team as it investigated the 2016 Trump campaign's ties to Russia. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates — a George W. Bush appointee — wrote in his ruling that Trump's order 'makes no bones about why it chose its target,' adding that 'it picked Jenner because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed.' Friday's ruling marks the second time in a matter of weeks that a judge has foiled Trump's attempts to retaliate against a major law firm whose work he's not a fan of. Severallaw firms have opted to kiss the president's ring by striking deals with him in hopes of avoiding similar executive orders targeting them, leading a number of law associatesas well as top partners to abandon ship as a result. Weissmann — a legal pundit and a notable critic of the president — told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that he loves Bates' ruling while tying the decision to the administration's battle with Harvard University. A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from barring the university's enrollment of foreign students. 'And what is the main ground? First Amendment violation,' said Weissmann of the Harvard ruling. 'And so you're going to see this over and over again.' He stressed that it's 'very important' for Americans not to see the Trump administration's retaliatory acts as 'isolated' events. 'This is sort of remarkable,' he said. 'The United States government repeatedly being found to have violated the First Amendment in really significant ways — attacking a major firm, a series of major law firms and Harvard University.' H/T: Raw Story Trade War Trump Rages: Trump Threatens 50% Tariffs On EU And 25% Penalties On Smart Phones Judge Slams Trump Administration's Retaliation, Blocks Executive Order Against Major Law Firm GOP Tax Bill Touts 'Trump Accounts' Giving $1000 To Newborns — But Experts Say It Wouldn't Do Much For Parents
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
US judge overturns Trump order targeting major law firm Jenner & Block
A US judge on Friday overturned Donald Trump's executive order targeting Jenner & Block, a big law firm that employed a lawyer who investigated him. Trump's executive order, called Addressing Risks from Jenner & Block, suspended security clearances for the firm's lawyers and restricted their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work. Trump accused the law firm of engaging in activities that 'undermine justice and the interests of the United States', claiming that it participated in politically driven legal actions. In the executive order, Trump specifically criticized the firm for hiring Andrew Weissmann, an attorney who worked on Robert Mueller's investigation into allegations of Russian influence in Trump's 2016 campaign. The firm sued to block Trump's order, arguing it violated the constitution's first and fifth amendments. US district judge John D Bates ruled on Friday that Trump's directive violated core rights under the US constitution, mirroring a 2 May ruling that struck down a similar executive order against law firm Perkins Coie. Bates did not mince words when calling a Trump executive order unconstitutional, which sought to target Jenner & Block. Trump's order, Bates wrote, 'makes no bones about why it chose its target: it picked Jenner because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed'. 'Going after law firms in this way is doubly violative of the constitution,' Bates said. The justice department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration can appeal Bates' order to the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit. Trump signed an executive order in March, targeting Jenner & Block by suspending security clearances and restricting their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work. This was, Trump claimed, because of politically motivated 'lawfare' the firm engaged in. By attempting to push forward this executive order, Trump attempted to 'chill legal representation the administration doesn't like, thereby insulating the executive branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers'. Bates added that the Trump executive orders against law firms 'follow the same recipe: other than personalized touches in their first sections, they generally direct the same adverse actions towards each firm and decry the threat each firm poses to national security and the national interest'. Bates was appointed to the District of Columbia in 2001 by George W Bush. He blocked Trump's executive order completely. Apart from Jenner and Perkins Coie, two other firms – WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey – have sued the Trump administration to permanently block executive orders he issued against them. Nine law firms, including Paul Weiss, Milbank, Simpson Thacher and Skadden Arps, have pledged nearly $1bn in free legal services to causes the White House supports and made other concessions to avoid being targeted by Trump. The justice department has defended Trump's executive orders against Jenner and other law firms as consistent with the broad reach of presidential authority. Reuters contributed reporting
