Andrew Weissmann — Liar's Kingdom
Former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann and Washington Post journalist Carol Leonnig discuss the mechanisms of political deception and what tools remain for fighting back.
Why we picked this
Weissmann led the Mueller investigation's financial crimes team and knows exactly where the legal system's pressure points are — this is accountability journalism crossed with prosecutorial strategy.
Andrew Weissmann, one of the lead prosecutors on the Mueller investigation and a former FBI General Counsel, joins Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig for a conversation about Liar’s Kingdom, his examination of political deception and the legal frameworks — and their limits — for combating it. Weissmann brings a prosecutor’s granular understanding of how lies are operationalized in political contexts and what evidence standards are actually required to hold powerful actors accountable.
Leonnig, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and co-author of I Alone Can Fix It, has spent years covering the intersection of power and accountability at the highest levels of American government. The pairing makes for a conversation that goes beyond legal commentary to examine the structural conditions that make political deception durable.
The Wharf location and free admission make this accessible to anyone following the ongoing questions about democratic accountability. Weissmann’s experience from inside the institutions that failed to deliver consequences gives the conversation a specificity that distinguishes it from punditry.