Weiss' sentence was controversial due to its length, which exceeded the 150-year sentence imposed on Bernard Madoff. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers included Weiss with other clemency petitions it submitted to the White House. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney asserted that the sentence was retaliation for rejecting a five-year plea deal. Weiss hired lobbyist Brett Tolman to press for commutation, and other supporters included former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman and Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz. The commutation campaign was spearheaded by his nephew.