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  • Court Sentences First Person from Special Counsel Mueller’s Investigation

    Alexander van der Zwann is the first individual to be sentenced from Special Counsel Mueller's Investigation (see here). The sentence is 30 days. (see here & here). According to the terms of the plea agreement, he faced a maximum of 5 years imprisonment. (see here).  The agreement called for a level 6 under the sentencing guidelines, with

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  • Conflicts of Interesat: diGenova and Toensing Out of the Picture

    Not long after being announced as additions to President Trump's legal team, Joe diGenova and Vicki Toensing have bowed out due to potential conflicts of interest, apparently connected to their representation of other clients in the Mueller probe. Politico's Darren Samuelsohn has the story here. (wisenberg)

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  • Dowd Resigns From Trump Legal Team

    The Washington Post has the story here. (wisenberg)

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  • A Swamp Story: “Rudy Is On The FISA Court!”

    Lost in the shuffle of last weekend's uproar over the McCabe firing was the astonishing disclosure of yet another unredacted series of text messages between the FBI's Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The Federalist has the story here. These messages and others had been provided to Congress previously in heavily redacted form, but Congressmen or Congressional investigators wishing to see them unredacted had

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  • Van Der Zwaan Plea and Statement of the Offense

    Hey, if the Office of Special Counsel can't decide the proper capitalization of his name, don't expect me to. Here are the  Van Der Zwaan Plea Agreement and the  Van Der Zwaan Statement of the Offense.  (wisenberg)

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  • Mueller Strikes Again

    Special Counsel Mueller's office has charged Alex Van Der Zwann, apparently a former Skadden associate, with violating 18 U.S.C. Section 1001, for lying to FBI Special Agents about his conversations with Richard Gates and an unnamed individual. More to come as events develop. Here is the Criminal Information in U.S. v. Alex Van Der Zwann. (wisenberg)

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  • Mueller’s Investigation & Recent Russian Indictments

    The speaking indictments of this past week provide a clear trail to Russian individuals and entities allegedly interfering in the 2016 Presidential election.  The choice of charges, which include conspiracy to defraud, are no surprise. An indictment under section 371 can take one of two avenues: conspiracy to commit a specific offense or conspiracy to defraud

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  • In the News & Around the Blogosphere

    DOJ Press Release, Arkansas State Senator Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Bank Fraud  John F. Savarese, Ralph M. Levene, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders, Jonathan M. Moses, Marshall L. Miller, Louis J. Barash, & Carol Miller, White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What to Expect in 2018, Compliance & Enforcement (esp)

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  • ABA sends letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Opposing Anti-Money Laundering Bill

    "American Bar Association President Hilarie Bass sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing concerns over a proposed anti-money laundering bill that would undermine the attorney-client privilege and impose burdensome and intrusive regulations on millions of small businesses, their lawyers and other agents, and the states." See more here. (esp)

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  • Decision to Dismiss Case of Senator Robert Menendez

    Hats off to the government for dismissing the case against Senator Robert Menendez.  Corruption cases are important, but it is also important to assure that the prosecution of these cases meet the law. Hats off also to Attorney Raymond Brown, who represented Menendez. See Nick Corasaniti, Justice Department Dismisses Corruption Case Against Menendez, NYTimes, Jan. 31,

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