Swamp Exposed: Lead Mueller Prosecutor Now Headlining Biden Fundraiser
In a move that looks not in the least bit sketchy, the former lead prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation will be the head fundraiser of a campaign event for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Fox News reported Thursday that Andrew Weissmann, previously a Mueller deputy and currently a New York University law professor, will be headlining a “virtual fireside chat” on June 2.
The event will be moderated by former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram.
According to the New York Post, Milgram is also an NYU law professor, although this is one of the less-concerning felicitous coincidences surrounding the event.
It’ll be taking place on Zoom, as so much of our cultural life does nowadays. An invitation from Biden’s “Victory Fund” said “guests who RSVP by making a contribution … will be sent instructions for how to join via Zoom.”
Andrew Weissmann, former lead prosecutor on Mueller’s special counsel team, is headlining a June 2nd virtual fundraiser for Biden. pic.twitter.com/3lq7ld5m0u
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) May 21, 2020
Leaving aside the problematic angle of having a “fireside chat” on June 2 (if you need a fire at the beginning of June, we really ought to consider our dogma surrounding global warming), there’s a lot to unpack here, none of which is good.
Weissman was never a favorite of conservatives, particularly when you consider aggressive tactics in special counsel cases that seemed dangerously political.
Of course, being part of the special counsel operation, Weissman’s only job was to get to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He was completely nonpartisan when he was with Mueller’s investigation, of course.
If you forgot the kind of fawning coverage this got 18 months ago, remember that Mueller was portrayed as Captain America and Weissman was his top deputy.
Think of him as the Bucky Barnes of the operation, fearlessly going after Paul Manafort for some iffy dealings in Ukraine while Steve Rogers went after Russian collusion that didn’t actually exist.
Well, at least we know Bucky’s politics. The apolitical Weissman — who was supposed to be doing his duty within the federal government without prejudice or concern to what happened to the Trump administration — is now lending his efforts to the Biden campaign.
As if we didn’t already know, Andrew Weissmann’s politics are officially unmasked https://t.co/qW3CfTN8Ar
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) May 21, 2020
And yet that’s still not touching on the major problem with this.
In any functional democracy, we wouldn’t have to worry about a prosecutor’s political inclinations, and not just because they would put them aside for the greater good. The problem is that we’re not in a functional democracy. We’ve long been in a government of, by and for the elites.
The biggest issue with the Mueller investigation wasn’t the seeming focus on delegitimizing President Donald Trump. It was why they wanted to delegitimize the Trump administration in the first place.
Weissman is indicative of the incestuous nature of Washington’s politics. He’s worked with Republican and Democrat presidents, but he’s always a man who’s colored inside the Beltway’s lines.
He’s a consummate careerist — and four more years of Trump means the possibility of four more years in exile in Greenwich Village teaching law to NYU students.
Trump’s campaign was thoroughly unsurprised at the fact Weissman ended up on the bill for a Biden fundraiser.
“It’s no surprise that a guy who tried to take down the president through the sham impeachment would also help Joe Biden’s campaign,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told Fox News.
“It doesn’t get any swampier than this: trying to stage a partisan coup against the president and then raising money for his political opponent.”
So, here we go. If you give Joe Biden enough of your cash, you too can spend a bit more of your week on Zoom, asking bland questions of a bland careerist whose primary claim to fame, at least at the moment, is that he once put Paul Manafort behind bars and tried to find evidence that the president colluded with the Russians. (In a completely nonpartisan way, of course).
If this is the kind of thing that’s worth money to you, well, you’re doubtlessly the Biden type to begin with.
If you think this reeks of the swamp that got Donald Trump elected in the first place — well, you’re right.
No matter how much money they end up raising, the stench isn’t going to go away.
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