One of the most prominent members of Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, who has since become an MSNBC legal analyst, will leave the network so he can headline a fundraiser for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Andrew Weissmann’s decision to host the fundraiser for the presumptive Democratic nominee appears to violate the network’s policy for creating the “appearance of a conflict of interest,” which is why he said he’ll be leaving the network if it happens as planned, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“If the fundraiser goes forward, I’m withdrawing from MSNBC so I can be in compliance with their policy,” Weissmann said.
“I knew what I was getting into and what the consequences would be,” he said. “They wanted me to adhere to their policy.”
Weissmann, formerly the second-most senior leader in the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, will host a “fireside chat” for the former vice president’s donors on June 2.
A network representative confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon that Weissmann had told them about the fundraiser, and there was an understanding in place that he’d leave the network if he participated in the Biden event.
“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 previously told the Washington Examiner about the fundraiser. “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.”
Weissmann was considered Mueller’s “pit bull” during the Russia investigation and is widely considered a key player behind the Justice Department’s charges against President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates.
Since leaving the Department of Justice, Weissmann has joined MSNBC as a legal analyst. In that time, he has regularly attacked Trump and his administration. Weissmann was also supportive of the House Democrats’ impeachment of Trump and compared the president’s alleged crimes stemming from the Ukraine whistleblower scandal to Watergate.
