Afternoon Briefs: Mueller prosecutor has regrets in tell-all book; federal courthouse is a hurricane casualty
Robert Mueller in 2012. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Book by Mueller prosecutor says more could have been done
A book by Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller said the office failed to fully investigate President Donald Trump’s financial ties amid fears that Trump would shut down the investigation. “We could have done more,” Weissmann wrote in the book, Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation. (The Washington Post, the New York Times)
Federal courthouse is a casualty of Hurricane Laura
The federal courthouse in Lake Charles, Louisiana, could be closed for a year or more because of damage sustained in Hurricane Laura. Large sections of the courthouse rooftop and wall were ripped off, and all four courtrooms and chambers were flooded. Many court employees, along with the federal judge and magistrate judge working there, suffered major home damage. Other federal court districts in Louisiana and Texas have offered court space so work can continue. (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts judiciary news)
2 more BigLaw firms match special bonus scale
Sullivan & Cromwell and Debevoise & Plimpton are paying special bonuses to associates that match the scale set by Davis Polk & Wardwell. The special bonuses range from $7,500 to $40,000. Debevoise said the bonuses don’t affect year-end bonuses, which are expected to be at least equal to last year’s bonuses. Sullivan & Cromwell didn’t mention its year-end bonus plans. (Above the Law here and here, Law.com)
Judicial Crisis Network plans $2.2M ad buy
The Judicial Crisis Network will spend $2.2 million in an initial ad blitz to support President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The ad said Ginsburg was confirmed in 42 days, with only three votes against her, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was unanimously confirmed in only 33 days. (Judicial Crisis Network press release)
US could withhold funds to cities after Trump sees ‘anarchy’
New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle could lose federal funding as a result of a Department of Justice determination that they have allowed violence and destruction of property to persist. The DOJ identified the cities after President Donald Trump said in a memorandum that his administration won’t send taxpayer dollars to cities that allow “anarchy.” (Department of Justice press release, Trump’s memorandum, the Washington Post, the New York Times)
