ft.com
Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation loses two prosecutors
Kadhim Shubber in Washington an hour ago
4-5 minutes
Two prosecutors on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation are leaving or have left the probe to return to their previous roles at the US Department of Justice.
Kyle Freeny, a money laundering expert, will conclude her assignment with the special counsel’s office later this month. Brandon Van Grack, a national security prosecutor, left the team in late August.
The departures follow news in August of the exit of two other prosecutors and will leave Mr Mueller’s office with 13 attorneys.
Peter Carr, a spokesperson for Mr Mueller, confirmed Ms Freeny’s move on Tuesday morning in response to questions from the Financial Times. He later disclosed Mr Van Grack’s exit to clarify the number of attorneys on Mr Mueller’s staff.
13
The number of attorneys working on the Mueller probe
Mr Carr said Mr Van Grack would “continue to represent the office on specific pending matters that were assigned to him during his detail”. Neither departure is related to any allegation of political bias or wrongdoing, he said.:Muellerlmao:
Ms Freeny, who was seconded to the special counsel’s investigation last year, will rejoin the justice department’s money laundering and asset recovery section after concluding her detail in mid-October.:FBIMuellerLaugh:
Mr Van Grack, who joined Mr Mueller’s team soon after the former FBI director’s appointment in May 2017, has returned to the DoJ’s National Security Division.
Both prosecutors had worked on the case against Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for Donald Trump who gave up his fight against Mr Mueller’s prosecutors last month and agreed to co-operate with the investigation.
Ms Freeny also worked on the charges Mr Mueller brought against 12 Russian intelligence officers for allegedly hacking Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election. The case was handed off to the National Security Division after the charges were announced.
In addition, Mr Van Grack worked on Mr Mueller’s case against Michael Flynn:muellercmonson:, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents. Mr Flynn’s sentencing date has been set for December, suggesting his co-operation will not be required after that point.
In August CNN reported that two other attorneys, Ryan dikkey and Brian Richardson, had left the special counsel’s office. Mr dikkey, a cyber crime expert, returned to the justice department.:Muellerlmao: Mr Richardson took a position at Columbia Law School, according to the report.
Last month James Comey, the former FBI director who oversaw the Russia probe before Mr Mueller’s appointment in May 2017, said the investigation may be in its “fourth quarter” following Mr Manafort’s guilty plea.
Mr Manafort pleaded guilty to money laundering and foreign lobbying charges, avoiding a second trial in Washington DC after his
conviction for bank and tax fraud in Virginia.
Mr Mueller has secured guilty pleas from six defendants, including four former advisers and aides to Mr Trump: Rick Gates, the former deputy chair of the Trump campaign; George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign; Mr Flynn; and Mr Manafort.
Mr Papadopoulos was
sentenced to 14 days in prison last month for lying to the FBI. Sentencing dates for Mr Gates and Mr Manafort have not yet been set.
Recommended
Ms Freeny had worked in the criminal division’s money laundering and asset recovery section since January 2016. She joined the DoJ in 2007 as a trial attorney in the civil section. Before her secondment to Mr Mueller’s team, she had worked on the US government’s
lawsuit seeking to recover money from the Malaysian state fund 1MDB that was invested in the film
Wolf of Wall Street.
Mr Van Grack worked as a trial attorney in the counter-intelligence and export control section of the NSD from 2010 to 2014, before serving as counsel to chief to the head of the division from 2014 to 2015. He was then a special assistant US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia before his move to Mr Mueller’s team.
