WEBVTT - Bloomberg Law Brief: Bipartisan Support for Mueller (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>Well, now it's time for our daily Bloomberg Lab Brief,

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<v Speaker 1>exploring legal issues in the news. It's brought to you

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<v Speaker 1>by American Arbitration Association. Business disputes are inevitable, resolve faster

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<v Speaker 1>with the American Arbitration Association, the global leader in alternative

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<v Speaker 1>dispute resolution for over ninety years. More at a dr

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<v Speaker 1>dot org. Today Bloomberg, Lahs, stud Rosso and Greg Sture

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<v Speaker 1>discussed the election of Robert Muller to lead the Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Department investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.

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<v Speaker 1>They speak with former Massachusetts Governor William Weld and William Banks,

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<v Speaker 1>director of the Institute for National Security and counter Terrorism

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<v Speaker 1>at Syracuse Law School. Director Banks, the office into which

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<v Speaker 1>he is stepping is different from the office occupied by

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<v Speaker 1>independent councils like Kenneth Starr and Lawrence Walsh, and I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted you to explain just what the differences are, how

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<v Speaker 1>he is not entirely separate from the Justice Department. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a good question because of is Bob Mueller. The differences

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<v Speaker 1>that we can identify now aren't going to matter so

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<v Speaker 1>much because of his tremendous integrity and the reputation that

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<v Speaker 1>he brings to this assignment. That said, the regulations now

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<v Speaker 1>are Justice Department regulations. So unlike the independent councils of old,

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<v Speaker 1>the Lawrence Walsh and ken Starr investigations and others, this

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<v Speaker 1>one is not authorized by statute. It's authorized by the

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<v Speaker 1>department itself. So in theory and in practice, Mueller will

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<v Speaker 1>report to the Attorney General Governor. Well, one difference is

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<v Speaker 1>that ken Starr could not be fired by the president.

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<v Speaker 1>Um As if I understand this correctly, Donald Trump could

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<v Speaker 1>actually direct that that Bob Muller be fired. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>think that will affect his work, make it more difficult

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<v Speaker 1>for him? No, it's not going to slow him down

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<v Speaker 1>one iota because he wouldn't care if somebody did the

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<v Speaker 1>wrong thing and and fired him. He's just going to

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<v Speaker 1>get to the bottom of it. He would be a

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<v Speaker 1>complete terrier. Uh. And as I say, it's gonna be,

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<v Speaker 1>it's gonna be even handed, I would expect. And by

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<v Speaker 1>the way, special counsel don't have to indict anybody just

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<v Speaker 1>because they have that power. And and you know, when

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<v Speaker 1>I was head of the Criminal Division and Main Justice,

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<v Speaker 1>I operated under that uh independent council statute and my

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<v Speaker 1>memory is more often than not no charges were filed,

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<v Speaker 1>So people shouldn't rush to assume that they're going to

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<v Speaker 1>be criminal indictments out of this. Uh my, My guess

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<v Speaker 1>is that under all the circumstances, uh, Mr Mueller might

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<v Speaker 1>find it appropriate to issue a report of his findings

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<v Speaker 1>with the FBI's findings at the end of the investigation,

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<v Speaker 1>which he certainly has the power to do. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>even a grand jury can issue a report of its

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<v Speaker 1>findings if it if it wants to, and that would

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<v Speaker 1>I think make everybody feel better. And that's former Massachusetts

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<v Speaker 1>Governor William Wild and William Banks, director of the Institute

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<v Speaker 1>for National Security and counter Terrorism at Syracuse Law School,

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<v Speaker 1>speaking with Bloomberg Lahost doing Grass and Gregg's Store. You

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<v Speaker 1>can listen to Bloomberg Law weekdays at one pm Wall

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<v Speaker 1>Street Time here on Bloomberg Radio Now. Among the top

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<v Speaker 1>legal stories from Bloomberg Law, Huber has threatened to fire

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<v Speaker 1>the engineer at the center of the driverless car technology

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<v Speaker 1>legal battle with Weymo. The ride hailing company has told

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Lewandowski to either deny taking files from Weimo, his

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<v Speaker 1>former employer, or turn them over. Lewandowski has told the

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<v Speaker 1>court he's being forced to choose between his job or

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<v Speaker 1>his constitutional rights against self incrimination. A federal judge says

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<v Speaker 1>he's inclined to approve Wells Fargoes one forty two million

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<v Speaker 1>dollars settlement with customers over fraudulent accounts. The bank is

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<v Speaker 1>trying to move past the scandal that erupted last year.

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<v Speaker 1>More than five thousand employees are fired for creating millions

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<v Speaker 1>of fake accounts over several years. Wells Fargo already agreed

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<v Speaker 1>to pay a hundred eighty five million dollars in fines.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's this morning's Bloomberg Lawbrary. If you can find

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<v Speaker 1>more legal news at Bloomberg Law dot com and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>b NA dot com. Attorneys will find exceptional legal research

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<v Speaker 1>and business development tools there as well. Visit Bloomberg Law

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<v Speaker 1>dot com and Bloomberg b and A dot com for

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<v Speaker 1>more information