Top prosecutor on Mueller team writing book on Russia investigation
New York — A top prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller has a book coming out this fall about the two-year investigation into the alleged ties between Russia and the 2016 campaign of President Trump.
Random House announced Monday that Andrew Weissmann's "Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation" will be published September 29. Weissmann, often the target of criticism from Trump supporters, is calling the book a meticulous account of the Mueller team's probe and its ongoing battles with the Trump administration.
"I felt it was necessary to record this episode in our history, as seen and experienced by an insider," he said in a statement. "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.
"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."
Weissmann, who worked as an FBI general counsel under Mueller, gained prominence as a prosecutor investigating organized crime in New York City and for his leadership of a task force looking into the Enron scandal. He has a reputation for being aggressive and experienced, and skilled in developing cooperating witnesses. Under Mueller, Weissmann led the case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in 2018.
The Mueller Report, released in April 2019, found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to tip the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor. But it also did not reach a conclusion on whether the president had obstructed justice. The investigation did lead to more than 30 indictments, including Manafort, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and longtime Trump friend Roger Stone, whose sentence for seven felony crimes was commuted last week by the president.
Mueller, who had not spoken publicly about his investigation since he testified before Congress in July 2019, defended his probe in an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Saturday, after the White House announced the president's decision to commute Stone's sentence. Mueller wrote his investigation was of "paramount importance" and said Stone "remains a convicted felon, and rightly so."
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday he would call Mueller to appear before his panel to field questions on the investigation.