Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is heading towards a close – and the results won’t be made public until after the midterms!
Russia probe almost wrapped up
Mueller’s probe into so-called “Russian collusion” has raged on for over a year and was a continuation of a secretive FBI counterintelligence operation into the Trump campaign (which involved planting a spy.) After Trump fired James Comey, Rod Rosenstein authorized a special counsel to continue the FBI’s work – even though Rosenstein told Trump to fire Comey.
According to Bloomberg:
“Mueller is expected to issue findings on core aspects of his Russia probe soon after the November midterm elections as he faces intensifying pressure to produce more indictments or shut down his investigation.
Specifically, Mueller is close to rendering judgment on two of the most explosive aspects of his inquiry: whether there were clear incidents of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, and whether the president took any actions that constitute obstruction of justice, according to one of the officials, who asked not to be identified speaking about the investigation.”
While the timing could be because Mueller doesn’t want to be seen as interfering in the midterms, he also could be caving to political pressure to end his investigation. Trump has already shown interest in replacing AG Jeff Sessions, which would mean Rod Rosenstein – who is Mueller’s boss – would be getting a new boss (and likely one unsympathetic to his cause).
The counsel has already failed to prove collusion
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that no evidence of collusion has been uncovered, because if it had, we would’ve heard of it already. There’s no better proof of this than in the details of the criminal indictments and charges already handed down as a result of the special counsel.
When Rod Rosenstein authorized Mueller’s special counsel, he authorized Mueller to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).”
And has a single indictment fit that description, even marginally? Nope.
Just look at the members of Trump’s campaign who have been indicted. George Papadapoulos and Michael Flynn plead guilty to charges of lying to the FBI, while Paul Manafort and Rick Gates’ charges stemmed from money laundering and tax evasion. Absolutely nothing to do with collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.
Of the Russians indicted by Mueller, while they were indeed indicted for attempting to influence the 2016 election, every single indictment excludes the magic word “collusion.”
If there was collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia, why is it so hard to uncover? Why, after two years of investigating, has not a single shred of evidence been picked up? Meanwhile, not a single person charged has been charged with anything within the mandate of the special counsel.
What do you call an investigation like that? A witch hunt.
