Top Mueller prosecutor urges DOJ officials to resist Barr investigations

One of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s top prosecutors urged Justice Department officials to consider refusing to cooperate with two investigations overseen by Attorney General William Barr.

Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department official who was known as Mueller’s “pit bull” during the Russia investigation, struck a sense of urgency in a New York Times op-ed on Wednesday, noting that there are 90 days until an election contest that will pit President Trump against former Vice President Joe Biden.

He wrote, along with former Defense Department special counsel Ryan Goodman, that U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation and U.S. Attorney John Bash’s investigation into “unmasking” requests by Obama administration officials targeting Trump associates show Barr is poised to “trample” written policy that no action be influenced by politics and an unwritten norm urging officials to defer publicly charging or taking any other overt investigative steps or disclosures that could affect a coming election.

“Justice Department employees,” they wrote, “in meeting their ethical and legal obligations, should be well advised not to participate in any such effort.”

The Justice Department has repeatedly signaled it expects “developments” in Durham’s investigation by the end of the summer, and Barr disputed in congressional testimony last week the notion that any findings brought forth will be covered by politics and stressed they will not disrupt the election.

Just as Barr’s critics fear an “October surprise” of sorts, often pointing to how Barr has already said Durham’s findings are “very troubling,” timing is also a mounting concern for the president’s allies who say the federal prosecutor’s work will likely get buried should Trump lose his bid for reelection. But Weissmann and Goodman argued there is no “urgency” to make any disclosures or bring charges that they say could be brought in November after the election.

“What can be done if Mr. Barr seeks to take actions in service of the president’s political ambitions?” they wrote. “There are a variety of ways for Justice Department employees in the Trump era to deal with improper requests. Employees who witness or are asked to participate in such political actions — who all swore an oath to the Constitution and must obey department policies — can refuse, report and, if necessary, resign. Other models include speaking with Congress under subpoena or resigning and then communicating directly to the public. Reputable organizations are at the ready to advise whistle-blowers about the risks and benefits of pursuing these paths.”

Weissmann, who has come under constant attack by Trump and his allies, has a book coming out in September that promises to explain why the Mueller team could have done more in their Russia investigation.