The real reason Donald Trump is suddenly so worried about Trump-Russia witness Rick Gates

| 12:12 pm EDT March 27, 2018
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Donald Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates cut a Trump-Russia plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller more than a month ago, yet just this week the Trump team has belatedly become very concerned with this development. Nothing specific has surfaced publicly about what Gates has told Mueller, so why the sudden concern? There’s a good reason for it.

Several of Trump’s associates are suddenly expressing concern to the media this week about what Rick Gates might be telling Mueller. By default, this means that Trump is suddenly concerned about Gates as well. For instance, Politico published a report yesterday citing the “deep unease” within Trump’s team about Gates, and quoting several of them spelling out doomsday predictions. So why is Team Trump publicly hitting the panic button about Gates now, as opposed to five weeks ago? Let’s take a look at what else is suddenly being reported about Gates.

Over the weekend the Associated Press reported that Robert Mueller’s cooperating witness George Nader helped funnel $2.5 million of bribe money from the United Arab Emirates into the hands of Elliott Broidy, who serves as a Trump fundraiser and deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee. In turn, McClatchy reported yesterday that Broidy was attempting to conspire with Rick Gates on a financial deal in Romania. This means that Gates isn’t merely a witness against Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, as we’ve long known. Gates is also a witness against Broidy, which in turn makes Gates a witness against Trump and the Republican Party leadership.

Up to now, the only avenue we’d seen for Rick Gates hurting Donald Trump was if his testimony led to Paul Manafort flipping on Trump. But now we know that Gates can help Robert Mueller follow the money when it comes to exposing Trump, the GOP, and anyone else in Trump’s orbit who may have taken foreign bribes. Perhaps more relevantly, Trump and his team now know it as well. No wonder they’re suddenly worried about what Gates is telling Mueller.