These indicted Russians are more screwed than you think
Special Counsel Robert Mueller probably doesn’t care if any of the thirteen Russian nationals he indicted ever see the inside of an American courtroom. He did this to prove that Russia conspired to rig the election in Donald Trump’s favor, partly for the benefit of the American public, and partly to establish the criminal conspiracy so he can charge Trump’s own people with being part of it. But these Russians who have been indicted are not off the hook just because they’re in Russia. Not even close.
Russia is not going to extradite any of the thirteen people who were just indicted. But if they ever visit any country that has an extradition treaty with the United States, they’re getting shipped here for trial. Some of these indicted Russians are oligarchs and businessmen with international business interests. They may no long be able to set foot in countries where they’re accustomed to conducting business, or vacationing, or visiting relatives.
At least some of these Russians will have to consider the possibility of trying to cut a plea deal with Mueller, by offering to testify against their American co-conspirators. But if these Russians do that, they’ll then have to worry that Vladimir Putin might have them killed. He’s already murdered plenty of other Russians who have been caught up in the Trump-Russia scandal.
These indicted Russians are screwed if they do cut plea deals with Robert Mueller, and they’re screwed if they don’t cut plea deals. It gets even more complicated for them. If the fallout from the Trump-Russia scandal does end up causing Putin to take a fall, the new Russian government might well extradite these thirteen people as a show of good faith. So even though Mueller indicted them primarily to weaken Donald Trump, and he won’t be able to put them on trial, he’s found an apt way to punish them for having conspired to rig the election.
