Politics

Robert Mueller Preps To Go Toe-To-Toe With The President On Pardons

Robert Mueller won't back down from this fight.

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(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Robert Mueller has an unenviable job. Investigating someone as erratic — and powerful — as Donald Trump has its risks. One day the president could be stuck in the bathroom with a bout of constipation and Twitter loaded up on his phone, and before you know it (and before any “adults in the room” have a chance to weigh in), the entire administration has been preemptively pardoned for anything and everything related to the 2016 campaign.

But that Bob Mueller, he’s a smart man. And, importantly, he’s a planner. According to a report from Bloomberg, he already has a top lawyer, Michael Dreeben, looking into the issue:

Acting as Mueller’s top legal counsel, Dreeben has been researching past pardons and determining what, if any, limits exist, according to a person familiar with the matter. Dreeben’s broader brief is to make sure the special counsel’s prosecutorial moves are legally airtight. That could include anything from strategizing on novel interpretations of criminal law to making sure the recent search warrant on ex-campaign adviser Paul Manafort’s home would stand up to an appeal.

Dreeben is an all-star appellate litigator — the kind who has made his 30-year career working for the government and has a commemorative jersey to mark his 100th argument before the Supreme Court. As Kathryn Ruemmler of Latham & Watkins told Bloomberg, “He’s seen every criminal case of any consequence in the last 20 years,” so you just know his work for the special counsel is going to be top notch — and will stand up under appeal. (A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office said Dreeben is working with Mueller, but also continuing some work in his role as deputy solicitor general for the sake of continuity.)

The notion of a far-reaching and comprehensive preemptive presidential pardon is certainly a… unique question of law, and it seems Mueller has the right man for the job:

What Dreeben brings to the question, say those who know him, is a credibility that comes from parsing how criminal prosecutions have played out across the country. A balding and bearded New Jersey native with a slightly nasal delivery, he has a knack for building careful arguments and the eloquence in court to lay them out in well-reasoned paragraphs, said Miguel Estrada, a lawyer at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

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Regardless of the specific legal advice Dreeben is able to provide, it seems clear Mueller is ramping up the investigation. And, oh yeah, he won’t back down. [RIP Tom Petty]

Mueller Tasks an Adviser With Getting Ahead of Pre-Emptive Pardons [Bloomberg]

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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