Top Mueller prosecutor was source of ‘negativity’ and mistrust at FBI: Ex-bureau lawyer
Jerry Dunleavy
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The former top lawyer at the FBI testified that his predecessor, Andrew Weissmann, was the source of a culture of “negativity” and mistrust at the bureau during his tenure.
Jim Baker, who served as the FBI general counsel from 2014 through 2017 and played a key role in the Trump-Russia investigation, testified during a civil trial in early March that Weissmann had damaged the FBI during his time as the bureau’s top lawyer from 2011 to 2013.
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Baker testified that “negativity” within the FBI “flowed from” Weissmann during the future key prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller‘s tenure, according to Politico, and that the lawyer created a culture of significant mistrust within the FBI.
Baker said that lack of communication inside the FBI counsel’s office was “a significant problem” during Weissmann’s tenure, saying that a “silo problem” in which FBI employees “didn’t tell each other what they were doing” was a flaw that he “inherited from Andrew.”
“I wanted people to tell me when I was wrong, which was the complete opposite from what Andrew did — Andrew Weissmann,” Baker testified, according to the outlet, adding that the FBI “had this tendency not to speak truth to each other in meetings and in other settings.”
Baker testified: “The communications breakdown extended to the highest levels of the office, with top lawyers not speaking up even if they disagreed with a decision or saw problems it would create.”
Baker testified that since-fired FBI Director James Comey also expressed concerns about Weissmann’s prior leadership.
The revelations about Weissmann came during a civil trial held in late February and early March, stemming from a 2020 lawsuit brought by former FBI lawyer Marciann Grzadzinski against the Justice Department and the FBI.
Grzadzinski accused Baker of discriminating against her based on her sex and gender when he demoted her from her position as deputy general counsel down to section chief in June 2015 and when he removed her from the senior executive service in January 2016.
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Baker denied the claims in court and contended in a sworn declaration signed in December 2016 that his decisions were “based entirely on my assessment of her performance and the needs of the office” and not on “any improper discriminatory animus such as gender and age discrimination.” A jury ruled in favor of the Justice Department and against Grzadzinski.
Weissmann has gone on to become a cable news fixture and an MSNBC analyst, including describing the Mar-a-Lago classified documents saga tied to Trump as “incredibly damning” and a “substantial criminal case” last year.