Here comes Robert Mueller’s big Trump-Russia week
Over the past few weeks, several of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s big pieces have fallen into place in the Trump-Russia investigation. Paul Manafort was found guilty. Michael Cohen cut a plea deal, in an SDNY criminal case that is all but officially Mueller’s. The National Enquirer and the CFO of the Trump Organization cut immunity deals. Samuel Patten pleaded guilty, officially establishing a money trail from Russia to the Trump campaign. But this week looks to be arguably even bigger for Mueller.
Let’s start with what we know. This Friday, September 7th, is the sentencing hearing for former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. This looked like it was merely going to be a straightforward matter of yet another Trump adviser being sent to prison, until Papadopoulos revealed in his court filing that Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions both signed off on his endeavors with the Russians. Why is Papadopoulos revealing this? Is it with Mueller’s blessing? If so, it’s a springboard to something far larger. But this is only half of what’s happening on September 7th.
After months of public back and forth, Randy Credico is set to testify before Robert Mueller’s grand jury this Friday. Roger Stone previously told Congress that Credico was his go-between with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks during the election; Credico says he’s being scapegoated. Credico has previously made public an email exchange in which Stone threatened to murder him and kidnap his dog if he testified, suggesting that Stone really doesn’t want Credico running his mouth about whatever went on during the election. The last word from Credico is that he intends to show up and testify.
Randy Credico’s testimony appears to be one of the final pieces of the puzzle in the case that Robert Mueller is building against Roger Stone. The only other known witness on the docket is Stone’s longtime associate Andrew Miller, who was held in contempt of court for refusing to testify against Stone. CNN reported last week that Miller had been given immunity, but then it pulled back on that claim, leaving Miller’s status unclear. Mueller probably doesn’t need Miller’s testimony to get an indictment against Stone, so depending on which way Mueller goes with that, Credico could be the final witness against Stone. Grand juries still need time to deliberate, so don’t look for Stone to be indicted or arrested this week – but Credico’s testimony on Friday could put us very, very close to seeing Stone get popped.
The Papadopoulos hearing and the Credico testimony are the two things we know about for this week. The question is what else Robert Mueller has up his sleeve – and as his actions periodically reminded us, he’s difficult to predict and he loves surprises. Rudy Giuliani keeps (falsely) claiming that Mueller is required to go quiet sixty days before the election, which is also this Friday. Don’t look for Mueller to actually go quiet, but don’t be shocked if he uses this line in the sand as a launching point for whatever big move he’s about to make next.
