Last week, special counsel Bobby Mueller was extremely productive: His indictment of several Russian nationals for meddling in the 2016 election was followed by a guilty plea, for lying to investigators, from a lawyer tied to Trump-campaign figures Paulie Manafort and Ricky Gates; a new indictment against Manafort and Gates that, as anticipated, added tax and bank fraud charges [in Virginia] to already existing money-laundering charges [in Washington]; and finally, a guilty plea from Gates on charges of defrauding the United States and lying to the FBI.
What is most notable about this array of allegations is an omission: NOWHERE has the Mueller team charged any kind of criminal collusion between the ’16 Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
So has the collusion theory been abandoned?
I don’t think that’s the way Mueller is looking at it. He’s too systematic…
NOT only is there NO “collusion” allegation in the new indictments; the ’16 Trump campaign is barely mentioned [I encourage everyone to take the time to read the publically-released documents].
Add to the mix the other charges Mueller has filed against Mickey Flynn and little Georgie Papadopoulos, who have pled guilty. In NEITHER instance did Mueller allege any kind of criminal conspiracy between the ’16 Trump campaign and Vlad’s regime.
BOTH defendants served the campaign, and BOTH had contacts with apparent Putin-regime operatives [the Russian ambassador in Flynn’s case, more-shadowy figures claiming regime ties in Papadopoulos’s].
We are going to hear much, much more of Mickey’s behavior over the coming days and months, trust me.
At the very least, I believe, Bobby Mueller intends to demonstrate that FBI and Justice Department suspicions about possible collusion were reasonable, even if there is NO criminal case to be made against the president or his ’16 campaign.
Although it is highly unlikely [at this juncture, and of what we know] that Trump will be accused ? of a collusion crime, Mueller intends to illustrate that he, Trump, showed appalling judgment !!! in putting his campaign in the hands of Manafort and Gates, who were up to their necks in collusion with agents of Putin’s regime.
Mueller has two things in mind, as I look at where we are right now.
First, if there was any Trump-campaign collusion with Russia, and it was in any way known to candidate Trump, then, certainly, Manafort and Gates are the ones best positioned to know. Therefore, they are worth squeezing hard !!! to induce them to cooperate – as it appears that Gates is now doing.
Second, and more likely, Mueller will want to defend the investigative decisions !!! made by the FBI and the Justice Department – institutions he served at the highest levels for many years.
Stay tuned, film at 11…
Lobster on the Prairie 