Robert Mueller busts out subpoenas and search warrants, telegraphing his next big Trump-Russia arrests
Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues to make aggressive moves behind the scenes in his Trump-Russia investigation, as evidenced by the pieces of the puzzle that continue to periodically surface in the media. This evening, different storylines from two different news outlets have arrived in near simultaneous fashion, telegraphing the next big arrests in the Trump-Russia scandal.
At the same time NBC News is reporting that Mueller obtained a new search warrant in relation to Paul Manafort, McClatchy is reporting that Mueller is going after Donald Trump’s business partners with subpoenas. It cannot be a coincidence that these two very different and very secret stories have both become public within minutes of each other. Even more notable is that while the actions against Trump’s business partners are happening this week, the Manafort-related search warrant was obtained four weeks ago, yet is just being reported now.
What we’re almost certainly seeing here is Robert Mueller strategically making these things public this evening, in order to lay the groundwork for his next big move. So let’s look at what’s being revealed here, and how it all fits together. First, the Manafort-related search warrant is likely not against Manafort. While Mueller could certainly still bring additional criminal charges against Manafort in addition to the dozens of felony charges he’s already levied, there’s nothing left of Manafort’s properties or possessions to be searched at this point. It’s more likely that the ongoing investigation into Manafort’s alleged crimes alerted Mueller to the actions of a Manafort associate, who is now being targeted.
Second, the subpoenas involving Trump’s business partners are an attempt at getting to Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen, according to McClatchy. The most logical conclusion would be that Robert Mueller is preparing to indict or arrest Michael Cohen. However, that’s not necessarily a given. What is clear is that Mueller is allowing all of this to become public tonight because he’s about to make his next big move – and it has something to do with Manafort and Cohen. Based on Mueller’s history of laying this kind of groundwork, someone is getting arrested soon. Contribute to Palmer Report
