Here’s who Robert Mueller is going to arrest next
This week’s plea deal between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Paul Manafort, along with the subsequent news that Michael Cohen has also begun cooperating with Mueller, has taken the focus off the moves that Mueller has been making in the background of late. Of course Mueller’s behind-the-scenes work is often difficult to trace in real time, and he loves springing surprises on us. Nonetheless, enough pieces have surfaced here and there to provide strong clues about who will be indicted and arrested next.
Next up: Roger Stone – Robert Mueller has spent the past few months hauling countless people from Stone’s political and personal life before the grand jury. Randy Credico, who can help Mueller nail Stone for witness tampering, testified last Friday. The only remaining known holdout witness is Stone’s longtime underling Andrew Miller, who was recently held in contempt.
Once the Miller matter is resolved, there is every reason to expect Mueller to indict and arrest Stone. Roger Stone says he’s innocent on all possible charges, and we’ll see if he fights it at trial or – like every other Trump associate who has been indicted to date – ends up cutting a cooperating plea deal. By the way, Roger Stone and Paul Manafort have had a business relationship dating back to the 1980s. Manafort’s cooperating plea deal makes Stone’s situation all the more dire.
Wildcard: Donald Trump Jr – It’s long been widely reported that Robert Mueller is investigating Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with the Russians at Trump Tower during the election. However, virtually nothing has surfaced about how far Mueller has progressed on this, or how close to completion his criminal case against Junior might be. Paul Manafort’s plea deal and proffer sessions this week mean that Mueller now knows precisely what went on during that meeting, because Manafort was also in attendance. But again, we have no idea whether Mueller will go after Trump’s kids before or after he goes after Trump himself.
