Andrew Weissmann

The acting deputy attorney general has not denied that. He has admitted that he did it, but he says he did it to prevent leaks. That is not facially plausible to me that that's the reason, because you know how you can't prevent leaks by taking notes. People can leak without having notes of their conversation. All it does do is eliminate the written record so that you can lie about what happened.

So the answer is yes, he can demand the notes. And if they have been destroyed, that is... One, it can be used by the judge as evidence that they would have been favorable to Danielle Sassoon's position that there was a quid pro quo. I mean, to me, you don't have to be a lawyer to understand that.

So the answer is yes, he can demand the notes. And if they have been destroyed, that is... One, it can be used by the judge as evidence that they would have been favorable to Danielle Sassoon's position that there was a quid pro quo. I mean, to me, you don't have to be a lawyer to understand that.

If you confiscate the notes and shred them, you're entitled to draw inferences from the fact that you did that. If they were helpful for you, you don't destroy them. Right. Right. You put them in a safe somewhere. Exactly. So the other thing he could do is something that Emmett Sullivan did in the Michael Flynn case.

If you confiscate the notes and shred them, you're entitled to draw inferences from the fact that you did that. If they were helpful for you, you don't destroy them. Right. Right. You put them in a safe somewhere. Exactly. So the other thing he could do is something that Emmett Sullivan did in the Michael Flynn case.

So that is in Trump 1.0, where remarkably, this is like the only other time I've ever heard anything like this happening. And I was a prosecutor for 21 years. The only other time I can think of a situation like this is from Trump 1.0. And there, what the judge did is he appointed somebody to represent the public interest.

So that is in Trump 1.0, where remarkably, this is like the only other time I've ever heard anything like this happening. And I was a prosecutor for 21 years. The only other time I can think of a situation like this is from Trump 1.0. And there, what the judge did is he appointed somebody to represent the public interest.

He said, you know, I've got the government and the defense aligned here, but they may not be presenting everything because I have Danielle Sassoon's letter saying that's not what happened here. So Emmet Sullivan was in that situation and he appointed a former judge, John Gleeson, to represent and advocate with respect to the law and what else the judge should consider.

He said, you know, I've got the government and the defense aligned here, but they may not be presenting everything because I have Danielle Sassoon's letter saying that's not what happened here. So Emmet Sullivan was in that situation and he appointed a former judge, John Gleeson, to represent and advocate with respect to the law and what else the judge should consider.

It doesn't mean the judge had to agree with what that amicus said, but it was important to have another voice at the table when the whole idea is that there's a collusion between the government and the defense at issue.

It doesn't mean the judge had to agree with what that amicus said, but it was important to have another voice at the table when the whole idea is that there's a collusion between the government and the defense at issue.

Absolutely. So this is like music to my ears because I wrote a short piece for just security. Can I just give a big plug? Because even though I'm on the board there, the people who do the day-to-day work are so great. Trust Security is affiliated with NYU Law School where I teach. It's just a great place for independent, smart analysis. It's also got a litigation tracker.

Absolutely. So this is like music to my ears because I wrote a short piece for just security. Can I just give a big plug? Because even though I'm on the board there, the people who do the day-to-day work are so great. Trust Security is affiliated with NYU Law School where I teach. It's just a great place for independent, smart analysis. It's also got a litigation tracker.

So if you're trying to keep track of the I think we're up to 80 cases that have been filed since January 20th with respect to the actions of this administration. You can sort of see it there. But I did a short piece pointing out that Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, definitely has the legal authority to do this.

So if you're trying to keep track of the I think we're up to 80 cases that have been filed since January 20th with respect to the actions of this administration. You can sort of see it there. But I did a short piece pointing out that Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, definitely has the legal authority to do this.

And he has the state crimes that are entirely comparable to the federal crimes. And I sort of matched them up. And I think your listeners know that Alvin Bragg, has done this before, where he has stepped into the breach, obviously, most famously with respect to the Donald Trump case when the feds balked, but he did it in the Steve Bannon case as well.

And he has the state crimes that are entirely comparable to the federal crimes. And I sort of matched them up. And I think your listeners know that Alvin Bragg, has done this before, where he has stepped into the breach, obviously, most famously with respect to the Donald Trump case when the feds balked, but he did it in the Steve Bannon case as well.

I agree with you that if it has not happened already, their position would be they would not want to do it. But there is reason to think that it may have happened already. We wouldn't know it because it would be under seal. But when Danielle Sassoon was still the acting U.S.

I agree with you that if it has not happened already, their position would be they would not want to do it. But there is reason to think that it may have happened already. We wouldn't know it because it would be under seal. But when Danielle Sassoon was still the acting U.S.

attorney, she could have shared that it is legal to do that under, just to be nerdy, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6 that governs federal grand jury secrecy. There's a provision that permits the federal government to share that information with the state prosecutor. And so that may have happened. And it's worth remembering that although it's not on the same charges, Alvin Bragg has a