Andrew Weissmann

About

Andrew Weissmann (born March 17, 1958) is an American attorney, legal scholar, and television legal analyst widely known for his high-profile career as a federal prosecutor and Department of Justice official.

Background & Legal Career

Education: Weissmann graduated from Princeton University and earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, where he served on the managing board of the Columbia Law Review. He also studied at the University of Geneva on a Fulbright Fellowship.

U.S. Attorney’s Office: He spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. During this time, he prosecuted major organized crime figures, including bosses of the Colombo, Gambino, and Genovese crime families.

Enron Task Force: From 2002 to 2005, Weissmann served as the director of the Enron Task Force in Washington, D.C., where he supervised the successful prosecutions of more than 30 individuals, including top executives Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow, following the company's collapse.

FBI General Counsel & DOJ: He served as the General Counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under Director Robert Mueller from 2011 to 2013, and later headed the Criminal Fraud Section at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017.

The Special Counsel Investigation

Mueller Probe: In June 2017, Weissmann joined Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He played a central role as a top prosecutor, famously leading the prosecution against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort..

Author: He detailed his experiences inside high-stakes federal investigations in his book, Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation (2020).

Academia & Media

Teaching & Legal Practice: Weissmann serves as a professor at the New York University School of Law, teaching criminal and national security law.

Commentary: Since leaving government service, he has worked as a prominent legal analyst for television networks (frequently appearing on MSNBC) and co-hosts the legal podcast Prosecuting Donald Trump

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