8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (10)
#18686354 at 2023-04-13 02:34:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #22925: Comfy Night Edition
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
2h
How horrible and unfair. The Country is watching!
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110188664334784262
Sean Davis
@seanmdav
14h
Manhattan D.A. Enlisted A Who's Who Of Biden Admin Buddies For Trump Takedown
https://thefederalist.com/2023/04/12/manhattan-d-a-enlisted-a-whos-who-of-biden-admin-buddies-for-trump-takedown/
Apr 12, 2023, 8:26 PM
Manhattan D.A. Enlisted A Who's Who Of Biden Admin Buddies For Trump Takedown
By: Margot Cleveland
April 12, 2023
8 Min Read
There's quite a pattern to the Manhattan D.A. office's unprecedented use of outside, Democrat-connected lawyers to investigate Trump.
ANew York City law firm with "strong ties" to Democrats and the Biden administration, and a big-time fundraiser for both, lent the Manhattan district attorney three lawyers to help him take down Donald Trump. This cohort included former Special Assistant District Attorney Mark F. Pomerantz, whose leaked resignation letter appears responsible for the Manhattan prosecutor's decision to indict Trump.
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg became the first prosecutor to bring criminal charges against a former president when he moved forward last week with the arraignment of Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The pathetic, barebones indictment was quickly denounced by pundits on both sides of the political aisle. Then on Friday, the House Judiciary Committee raised additional concerns about the role Matthew Colangelo, the former No. 3 man in the Biden administration's Department of Justice, played in the targeting of Trump.
While Bragg's hiring of Colangelo to reportedly "jump-start" the investigation into Trump further indicates the indictment was politically motivated, the Manhattan D.A. office's unprecedented use of outside, Democrat-connected lawyers to investigate Trump pre-dates Colangelo's arrival by nearly a year.
A Pattern
In early to mid-February of 2021, Bragg's predecessor, District Attorney Cyrus Vance, arranged for private criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to be a special assistant district attorney for the Manhattan D.A.'s office. Pomerantz, whom The New York Times noted was to work "solely on the Trump investigation," took a temporary leave of absence from his law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he had defended former Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., against alleged campaign finance violations. But even before being sworn in as a special assistant to the Manhattan D.A., Pomerantz had reportedly "been helping with the case informally for months..."
According to the Times, "the hiring of an outsider is a highly unusual move for a prosecutor's office." One must wonder, then, how much more unusual it is for the Manhattan D.A.'s office to receive the "informal" assistance of a private criminal defense attorney. The legacy news outlet, however, justified the hiring of Pomerantz based on the "usual complexity" of "the two-and-a-half-year investigation of the former president and his family business."
A few months later, the D.A.'s office welcomed two more outsiders, Elyssa Abuhoff and Caroline Williamson, who also both took leaves of absence from the New York powerhouse Paul, Weiss to work on the Trump investigation as special assistant district attorneys.
For a law firm to lend not one but three lawyers to the Manhattan D.A.'s office seems rather magnanimous, until you consider Paul, Weiss's previous generosity to Joe Biden. During Biden's White House run, the law firm hosted a $2,800-per-plate fundraiser for about 100 guests.
The chair of the Paul, Weiss law firm, brad karp, also topped the list of Biden fundraisers, bundling at least $100,000 for the then-candidate. "As someone who cares passionately about preserving the rule of law, safeguarding our democracy and protecting fundamental liberties, I've been delighted to do everything I possibly can to support the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket," karp wrote in an email.
karp's support of the Democrat presidential ticket isn't surprising given that his fellow Paul, Weiss partner Robert Schumer is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's brother.
Biden's connection to the firm, however, dates much further back, with the former secretary of homeland security in the Obama-Biden administration, Jeh Johnson, also heralding from Paul, Weiss. Once elected president, Biden nominated Jonathan Kanter, a former partner of Paul, Weiss, to serve as the top antitrust enforcement official at the Justice Department. In fact, according to Bloomberg, Paul, Weiss has "emerge[d] as Biden-Era N.Y. Power Center."
#17622490 at 2022-10-03 00:54:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21607: Archives Activated, Re-read Crumbs, RED OCTOBER Edition
>>17622468
>>17622468
Moar Flashback to Qresearch post and karp
#13547683 at 2021-04-30 06:05:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research UK #37: "Richard Trevithicks 250 Birthday" Edition
>>13547645
Recent story, re Hogman, see bottom para.
U.S. SEC enforcement head resigns after five days on the job. Wed, April 28, 2021.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-sec-enforcement-chief-steps-211420359.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alex Oh, who last week became the first woman of color to lead the U.S. securities watchdog's enforcement division resigned on Wednesday due to potential conflicts of interest created by her previous work as a lawyer, according to the agency and a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The unusual turn of events is a blow for new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler, for whom Oh was among his first big hires, and underscores the challenges of filling top agency roles with Wall Street defense attorneys.
In her resignation letter to Gensler on Wednesday, shared with reporters, Oh said a "development" relating to one of her previous cases would be "an unwelcome distraction to the important work of the Division."
The issue at hand relates to Oh's work defending Exxon Mobil Corp against a lawsuit in her previous role as partner atPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to share the information.
The SEC is probing Exxon Mobil over asset valuation issues, according to a January report by the Wall Street Journal, and the matter could create a potential conflict of interest if Oh were to remain in the role, agency sources said. This issue came to the attention of SEC officials this week, the person said.
Oh previously served as co-leader of Paul, Weiss' anti-corruption team. During her 17 years at the firm she worked for a slew of corporations and Fortune 100 companies.
Oh decided to resign after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in a Monday order raised questions over her conduct during a deposition in the Exxon case, according to the order and the person with knowledge of the matter.
brad karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, he could not comment on ongoing litigation, but added: "Alex is a person of the utmost integrity and a consummate professional." A representative for Exxon did not immediately provide comment.
While other SEC officials, including former chair Jay Clayton have had long careers in private practice, progressives have put pressure on Democratic President Joe Biden's administration to eschew industry hires due to concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
After her April 22 appointment, a group of advocacy groups wrote to Gensler saying they were "deeply surprised and concerned" by his choice.
"The SEC has failed the American people by repeatedly selecting Wall Street defense lawyers as Directors of Enforcement," said Dennis Kelleher, Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, a Washington group advocating for Wall Street reform.
"They come to the SEC with needless and unhelpful baggage, including crippling conflicts of interest regarding current and past clients as well as a mindset...ill-suited to being an aggressive enforcer," he added.
The agency named Melissa Hodgman as acting director of the division, a role she previously held between January and April.
#17622468 at 2022-10-03 00:50:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21607: Archives Activated, Re-read Crumbs, RED OCTOBER Edition
Flashback to Qresearch post andkarp
https://qresear.ch/?q=brad+karp
#13417535 at 2021-04-13 18:33:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #16995: The Precipice Is Closer Than It Appears In Mirror Edition
Lawfare Activated - 16 Top Leftist Law Firms Plan "SWAT" Teams to Battle State Election Reform Legislation
Thus the need for "America-First Legal", the counter strike group put together by Stephen Miller.
NBC is reporting that sixteen major national law firms (all leftist aligned) have signed-on to an agreement to create rapid response "SWAT" style legal teams to immediately drag any state election reform efforts into court.
(Via NBC) - More than a dozen of the country's top law firms have committed to join forces to challenge voting restrictions across the country NBC News reports, adding legal might to the corporate pressure campaign opposing Republican-led attempts to overhaul elections in the wake of former President Donald Trump's loss.
One of the effort's leaders, brad karp, chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison of New York, said Monday that 16 firms had signed on so far, including his. The lawyers will act like "SWAT teams" for legal action, he said. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management professor who is working to help mobilize corporate America against the restrictions, described the legal coalition as an "army of election law experts ready to dispatch at a moment's notice."
The group came together from conversations among major law firms about publicly taking a stand against restrictive voting laws like the one enacted in Georgia last month, as well as bills under consideration in Texas, Arizona, Florida and other states. (read more)
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2021/04/13/lawfare-activated-16-top-leftist-law-firms-plan-swat-teams-to-battle-state-election-reform-legislation/
#17620409 at 2022-10-02 13:55:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21605: First Sunday of Red October Edition
>>17620375
from the pages of the hot sheets…
Lynch, the first black woman to be confirmed as attorney general, is now a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Four sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday that she is working on the lawsuit with the firm's chairman brad karp.
Paul Weiss Chairman brad karp is a major fund-raiser for Democrats and has publicly advocated for immigration reform and gun control. "We have many alumni and friends in senior positions in the Biden-Harris administration," karp said in an email.
https://qresear.ch/?q=brad+karp
#15646464 at 2022-02-17 02:19:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19784: Local Action has a National Impact Stand Up, Step Up and Speak Up Edition
NFL hires former AG Loretta Lynch for racial bias lawsuit: Report
Lynch, the first black woman to be confirmed as attorney general, is now representing the NFL.
The National Football League reportedly has hired former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch for its defense in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed earlier this month by Brian Flores, former Miami head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Flores' lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams seeks "to shine a light on the racial injustices that take place inside the NFL and to effectuate real change for the future."
Lynch, the first black woman to be confirmed as attorney general, is now a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Four sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday that she is working on the lawsuit with the firm's chairman brad karp.
Flores, who is black and Hispanic, has not been picked to be head coach in several NFL openings after he was fired fired by the Dolphins in January.
The NFL released a statement on Flores' lawsuit the day it was filed.
"Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time," the NFL stated. "We will defend against these claims, which are without merit."
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/nfl-hires-former-ag-loretta-lynch-racial-bias-lawsuit
#15505847 at 2022-01-31 01:14:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19610:United We Stand
>>15505621
TYB
TYNT
—
Found this article while digging on Robert Schumer, who POTUS mentioned last night during the rally. A bit dated, but informative. I've trimmed it a bit for brevity.
Wall Street Law Firm Emerges as N.Y. Power Center in Biden Era
Damian Williams, the man poised to be nominated as the next top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, shares a credential with several other New York power players associated with the Biden administration: he's been a lawyer at the elite firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Williams was put forth for the role by a panel that includes Robert Schumer, a Paul Weiss partner and the brother of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. If confirmed by the Senate, Williams will work a block away from Mark Pomerantz, a senior Paul Weiss lawyer now on leave helping with District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s criminal investigation of Donald Trump. Paul Weiss Chairman brad karp is a major fund-raiser for Democrats and has publicly advocated for immigration reform and gun control. "We have many alumni and friends in senior positions in the Biden-Harris administration," karp said in an email.
There's also the possibility that a Paul Weiss alumnus, Representative Hakeem Jefferies, becomes House Speaker – the New York Democrat is widely seen as a potential successor to Nancy Pelosi, who has said she won't seek another term in two years. According to John Coffee, a law professor at Columbia Law School, "brad karp is the most-connected man in New York City and Washington."
That's good news to the Wall Street banks for whom Paul Weiss is the go-to firm to handle allegations of wrongdoing. The firm of more than 1,000 lawyers also represents private equity funds, oil companies, Chinese tech giants and other large corporations in a variety of matters that generate over $1 billion a year in revenue, according to The American Lawyer magazine. That client list increasingly sits uneasily with the Democratic Party's progressive tilt.
The firm represented Deutsche Bank in the government's probe of Libor manipulation and negotiated a 2015 federal deferred prosecution agreement as part of a broader $2.5 billion settlement. JPMorgan Chase & Co.turned to Paul Weiss for the Justice Department's foreign-bribery investigation of the bank's hiring of the children of high-ranking Chinese officials, which ended with a $264 million settlement in 2016. karp himself represented Citigroup in both government investigations and private lawsuits stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.
More recently, Paul Weiss has lobbied the Commerce and Treasury departments on behalf of China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. over Trump's ban on the use of WeChat messaging technology in the U.S.
Robert Schumer, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Paul Weiss, serves with lawyers at other firms on his brother's panel screening candidates for judicial and U.S. attorney nominations.
If history's any guide, some of the judges Biden appoints could have Paul Weiss ties. Manhattan's chief federal trial judge, Colleen McMahon, and her colleague Lewis Kaplan were both partners at the firm before being appointed to the bench by Bill Clinton. On its website, the firm proudly notes that Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor all began their legal careers as Paul Weiss summer associates.
[Full article]
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/wall-street-law-firm-emerges-as-n-y-power-center-in-biden-era
[Robert Schumer, Paul, Weiss profile]
https://www.paulweiss.com/professionals/partners-and-counsel/robert-b-schumer
—
A few other notes on Robert Schumer -
He is a Director of New Alternatives for Children, Inc. (this needs a dig)
https://www.nackidscan.org/home/index.php
https://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/team/epsteinpartners/meetourteam.html
He represents TimeWarner an awful lot. From the website:
Lead lawyer on numerous high-profile transactions, including:
Time Warner Cable
$78.7 billion merger with Charter Communications;
$45.2 billion stock-for-stock merger with Comcast Corporation
$3 billion acquisition of Insight Communications;
$17.9 billion acquisition of the cable properties of Adelphia Communications Corporation.
$2.8 billion acquisition of the cable television interests of the Newhouse family
$58 billion bid for AT&T Broadband and in the $9 billion restructuring of Time Warner Entertainment, with Comcast and AT&T;
#15498118 at 2022-01-30 04:51:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19602: They're not after me, they're after you Edition
Loretta Lynch works for the law firm that President Trump said is targeting him.
2019: "She is joining the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as a litigation partner in its New York office, where she will work on complex lawsuits and defend companies in criminal prosecutions…brad karp, the law firm's chairman, was in Ms. Lynch's graduating class at Harvard Law School."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/business/loretta-lynch-paul-weiss.html
#13435413 at 2021-04-16 00:44:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17018: Sailing Through The Waves of Sound Edition
Merger of Big Corp and Big Law with Democrats Is Part of a Political Realignment
We're seeing a realignment of the country, with once Republican-friendly large corporate America openly siding with Democrats and pushing progressive agendas.
Something's happening here, what it is is becoming clear.
We first noticed it when Big Tech began to silence Trump supporters on social media in an obvious attempt to sway the election for Joe Biden. And it worked. While there's no single factor that threw the election, the actions of Big Tech is quashing negative stories, such as Biden family influence peddling, were significant. Post-election, the same Big Tech that allowed Russia-collusion conspiracy theories to thrive for four years deplatformed people and even the President, for allegedly spreading election conspiracy theories.
Focusing on Big Tech was correct and understandable because Big Tech controls so much of our communications. But what has become clear is that the Big Tech problem was really a subset of a Big Woke Corp. problem.
Many of largest corporations, including household names like Coca-Cola and Delta, have thrown in with Democrats based on the Big Lie that modest changes to preserve voting integrity are "Jim Crow 2.0." We covered recently how lies about the Georgia voter integrity laws caused corporations to become agents of Democrats, Over 100 Corporate Leaders Side With Democrats, Form Plan to Respond to Voting Laws.
But it's more than that. Big Law, some of the largest law firms who represent Big Corp, are lending their legal weight to the effort:
A group of major law firms formed a coalition "to challenge voter suppression legislation." ....
Also on the call was brad karp, the chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss. On Monday, Mr. karp said he had organized the coalition of law firms, which also include Skadden; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; and Wachtell Lipton.
"It puts legislators on notice that if there are laws that are unconstitutional or illegal they will face pushback from the legal community," said Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York think tank that is working with the coalition. "This is beyond the pale. You're hearing that from the business community, and you're hearing it from the legal community."
The law firm Paul Weiss, which is among the most prestigious in the nation, has been touting this effort, referring to the new laws as "the rebirth of Jim Crow."
This is bigger than Big Tech, as Dan McClaughlin points out at National Review, The Party in Power Is Directing a Corporate Conspiracy against Its Political Opposition:
The president, and his party's lawyer, are urging multiple major corporations to combine to restrain trade for the purpose of making it harder for its political opposition to win elections, and using lies to restrict the president's democratically elected critics from passing laws. If we saw this in another country, we would recognize it as a menacing step.
This is happening now, in the United States, in the fight over the Georgia election law. It appears likely to happen again in other states considering similar laws.
This is the big news. It's not just Big Tech.
We're seeing a realignment of the country, with once Republican-friendly large corporate America openly siding with Democrats and pushing progressive agendas.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/04/merger-of-big-corp-and-big-law-with-democrats-is-part-of-a-political-realignment/
#13434286 at 2021-04-15 21:59:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17017: Q Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming! Q Edition..
Merger of Big Corp and Big Law with Democrats Is Part of a Political Realignment
We're seeing a realignment of the country, with once Republican-friendly large corporate America openly siding with Democrats and pushing progressive agendas.
Something's happening here, what it is is becoming clear.
We first noticed it when Big Tech began to silence Trump supporters on social media in an obvious attempt to sway the election for Joe Biden. And it worked. While there's no single factor that threw the election, the actions of Big Tech is quashing negative stories, such as Biden family influence peddling, were significant. Post-election, the same Big Tech that allowed Russia-collusion conspiracy theories to thrive for four years deplatformed people and even the President, for allegedly spreading election conspiracy theories.
Focusing on Big Tech was correct and understandable because Big Tech controls so much of our communications. But what has become clear is that the Big Tech problem was really a subset of a Big Woke Corp. problem.
Many of largest corporations, including household names like Coca-Cola and Delta, have thrown in with Democrats based on the Big Lie that modest changes to preserve voting integrity are "Jim Crow 2.0." We covered recently how lies about the Georgia voter integrity laws caused corporations to become agents of Democrats, Over 100 Corporate Leaders Side With Democrats, Form Plan to Respond to Voting Laws.
But it's more than that. Big Law, some of the largest law firms who represent Big Corp, are lending their legal weight to the effort:
A group of major law firms formed a coalition "to challenge voter suppression legislation." ....
Also on the call was brad karp, the chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss. On Monday, Mr. karp said he had organized the coalition of law firms, which also include Skadden; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; and Wachtell Lipton.
"It puts legislators on notice that if there are laws that are unconstitutional or illegal they will face pushback from the legal community," said Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York think tank that is working with the coalition. "This is beyond the pale. You're hearing that from the business community, and you're hearing it from the legal community."
The law firm Paul Weiss, which is among the most prestigious in the nation, has been touting this effort, referring to the new laws as "the rebirth of Jim Crow."
This is bigger than Big Tech, as Dan McClaughlin points out at National Review, The Party in Power Is Directing a Corporate Conspiracy against Its Political Opposition:
The president, and his party's lawyer, are urging multiple major corporations to combine to restrain trade for the purpose of making it harder for its political opposition to win elections, and using lies to restrict the president's democratically elected critics from passing laws. If we saw this in another country, we would recognize it as a menacing step.
This is happening now, in the United States, in the fight over the Georgia election law. It appears likely to happen again in other states considering similar laws.
This is the big news. It's not just Big Tech.
We're seeing a realignment of the country, with once Republican-friendly large corporate America openly siding with Democrats and pushing progressive agendas.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/04/merger-of-big-corp-and-big-law-with-democrats-is-part-of-a-political-realignment/
#13417535 at 2021-04-13 18:33:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #16995: The Precipice Is Closer Than It Appears In Mirror Edition
Lawfare Activated - 16 Top Leftist Law Firms Plan "SWAT" Teams to Battle State Election Reform Legislation
Thus the need for "America-First Legal", the counter strike group put together by Stephen Miller.
NBC is reporting that sixteen major national law firms (all leftist aligned) have signed-on to an agreement to create rapid response "SWAT" style legal teams to immediately drag any state election reform efforts into court.
(Via NBC) - More than a dozen of the country's top law firms have committed to join forces to challenge voting restrictions across the country NBC News reports, adding legal might to the corporate pressure campaign opposing Republican-led attempts to overhaul elections in the wake of former President Donald Trump's loss.
One of the effort's leaders, brad karp, chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison of New York, said Monday that 16 firms had signed on so far, including his. The lawyers will act like "SWAT teams" for legal action, he said. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management professor who is working to help mobilize corporate America against the restrictions, described the legal coalition as an "army of election law experts ready to dispatch at a moment's notice."
The group came together from conversations among major law firms about publicly taking a stand against restrictive voting laws like the one enacted in Georgia last month, as well as bills under consideration in Texas, Arizona, Florida and other states. (read more)
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2021/04/13/lawfare-activated-16-top-leftist-law-firms-plan-swat-teams-to-battle-state-election-reform-legislation/
8chan/8kun QResearch UK Posts (1)
#13547683 at 2021-04-30 06:05:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research UK #37: "Richard Trevithicks 250 Birthday" Edition
>>13547645
Recent story, re Hogman, see bottom para.
U.S. SEC enforcement head resigns after five days on the job. Wed, April 28, 2021.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-sec-enforcement-chief-steps-211420359.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alex Oh, who last week became the first woman of color to lead the U.S. securities watchdog's enforcement division resigned on Wednesday due to potential conflicts of interest created by her previous work as a lawyer, according to the agency and a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The unusual turn of events is a blow for new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler, for whom Oh was among his first big hires, and underscores the challenges of filling top agency roles with Wall Street defense attorneys.
In her resignation letter to Gensler on Wednesday, shared with reporters, Oh said a "development" relating to one of her previous cases would be "an unwelcome distraction to the important work of the Division."
The issue at hand relates to Oh's work defending Exxon Mobil Corp against a lawsuit in her previous role as partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to share the information.
The SEC is probing Exxon Mobil over asset valuation issues, according to a January report by the Wall Street Journal, and the matter could create a potential conflict of interest if Oh were to remain in the role, agency sources said. This issue came to the attention of SEC officials this week, the person said.
Oh previously served as co-leader of Paul, Weiss' anti-corruption team. During her 17 years at the firm she worked for a slew of corporations and Fortune 100 companies.
Oh decided to resign after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in a Monday order raised questions over her conduct during a deposition in the Exxon case, according to the order and the person with knowledge of the matter.
brad karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, he could not comment on ongoing litigation, but added: "Alex is a person of the utmost integrity and a consummate professional." A representative for Exxon did not immediately provide comment.
While other SEC officials, including former chair Jay Clayton have had long careers in private practice, progressives have put pressure on Democratic President Joe Biden's administration to eschew industry hires due to concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
After her April 22 appointment, a group of advocacy groups wrote to Gensler saying they were "deeply surprised and concerned" by his choice.
"The SEC has failed the American people by repeatedly selecting Wall Street defense lawyers as Directors of Enforcement," said Dennis Kelleher, Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, a Washington group advocating for Wall Street reform.
"They come to the SEC with needless and unhelpful baggage, including crippling conflicts of interest regarding current and past clients as well as a mindset…ill-suited to being an aggressive enforcer," he added.
The agency named Melissa Hodgman as acting director of the division, a role she previously held between January and April.