(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Former FBI director and special counsel Robert Mueller is tasked with investigating possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. He’s also working to determine whether President Trump obstructed justice in pressuring FBI Director James Comey to drop the Michael Flynn investigation. Based in downtown Washington, D.C., Mueller has built a small, focused team that draws on decades of experience and knowledge, ranging from mob prosecutors and fraud experts to lawyers with serious Supreme Court experience.
Team Mueller
The special counsel has recruited talent from his days at the FBI and from his old law firm WilmerHale (which also has attorneys representing Trump associates)
Robert Mueller
- Second-longest tenure as FBI director
- Former U.S. attorney
- Oversaw prosecutions of mobster John Gotti and Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, as well as the Pan Am 103 bombing investigation
- In the aftermath of Sept. 11, helped refocus the FBI on counterterrorism
Andrew Weissmann
- Ran the Justice Department’s fraud section under President Obama, overseeing corporate wrongdoing and foreign corruption probes
- Has prosecuted mobsters
- Was once the FBI’s general counsel
Michael Dreeben
- Has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court for the Justice Department
- Expected to offer advice on complex legal areas such as executive privilege and obstruction of justice
Aaron Zebley
- Former FBI chief of staff to Mueller; ex-WilmerHale attorney
- Worked as a national security prosecutor in Virginia
- Was a lead FBI agent in case against Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui
James Quarles
- Assistant special prosecutor in the Watergate investigation
- A former partner and intellectual-property litigator at WilmerHale
Jeannie Rhee
- Worked in the Justice Department office that advises the White House
- Represented the Clinton Foundation in a lawsuit at WilmerHale
Team Trump
The president has personal legal advisers, as do his associates, including Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and son-in-law Jared Kushner
Marc Kasowitz
- Bare-knuckled litigator and fierce defender of Trump
- Has represented him for more than 15 years
- Not a criminal lawyer, but has joined Trump’s battles with regulators, real estate partners, and journalists
Jay Sekulow
- Former attorney for the IRS
- Chief counsel to the conservative American Center for Law and Justice
- Has argued cases before the Supreme Court
- Hosts a daily radio show and is a frequent guest on Fox News
Michael Bowe
- Longtime law partner of Kasowitz
- Ex-Sullivan & Cromwell litigator
- Deposed hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen in civil case
- Sued Greenpeace for defamation on behalf of a paper company
Kushner
Ivanka Trump and her husband have tapped a Democrat as their lawyer
Jamie Gorelick
- Clinton administration deputy attorney general
- WilmerHale partner
- Rumored to have been on Hillary Clinton’s short list for attorney general
Flynn
The former national security adviser is likely an early target of Mueller’s probe
Robert Kelner
- Covington & Burling partner, election law expert
- Represented Republican National Committee in congressional probe into Bush administration emails
Manafort
Trump’s ex-campaign manager has done business in Russia
Reginald Brown
- WilmerHale partner
- Represented Rex Tillerson on complying with federal ethics rules
Stone
Stone, an ardent Trump supporter, has a tattoo of disgraced President Richard Nixon on his back
Robert Buschel
- South Florida defense lawyer
- Wrote a 2016 novel about a president who wins the White House after the election is hacked
Grant J. Smith
- Does corporate transaction law in Florida
To contact the authors of this story: Tom Schoenberg in Washington at tschoenberg@bloomberg.net, David Voreacos in Newark at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Philips at mphilips3@bloomberg.net.
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