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The Big Lies › 2005 › File PF-0001
Bad Call

Weissmann's Enron Wins Reversed: Andersen 9-0, Merrill Barge Case (Background, Pre-2012)

As Enron Task Force leader, Weissmann won convictions of Arthur Andersen for obstruction and of Merrill Lynch executives in the Nigerian barge deal, using aggressive legal theories.

First reported May 31, 2005 · U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: m.washingtontimes.com (archived copy, Wayback Machine). Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

Coverage presenting Weissmann as a star prosecutor left out these reversals, which served Democrats during the Mueller probe.

What was reported

As Enron Task Force leader, Weissmann won convictions of Arthur Andersen for obstruction and of Merrill Lynch executives in the Nigerian barge deal, using aggressive legal theories.

What actually happened

On May 31, 2005, a unanimous Supreme Court overturned Andersen's conviction. It held the jury instructions failed to require consciousness of wrongdoing, but the firm had already collapsed. In August 2006 the Fifth Circuit reversed the Merrill executives' fraud and conspiracy convictions, finding the honest-services theory flawed. James Brown's perjury and obstruction conviction stood. Critics such as defense lawyer Sidney Powell called him overzealous. The Washington Times reported that the Justice Department reviewed ethics complaints against him in 2012 and 2013 and found no rule violations.

The proof

Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S. 696 (2005), and the Fifth Circuit's 2006 ruling in the barge case.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Weissmann's Enron Wins Reversed: Andersen 9-0, Merrill Barge Case (Background, Pre-2012) — Bad Call. Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S. 696 (2005), and the Fifth Circuit's 2006 ruling in the barge case. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/weissmann-enron-reversals/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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