The charges against the former Trump campaign boss appear to have been only an opening salvo in a legal barrage on the president’s confidants, informed observers say.
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A superseding indictment would essentially replace the current indictment of Manafort. And in that current indictment, Mueller’s team hinted there was more to come. In particular, they hinted at potential tax charges for Manafort’s foreign financial transactions. Federal prosecutors can bring charges against any American who has money in a foreign bank account and doesn’t check a box on their tax forms disclosing it. The Manafort/Gates indictment describes financial behavior that may be liable for that kind of prosecution. And that’s an indicator that Mueller’s team may be preparing to formally charge both men with violating tax laws.
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Mueller has been working with IRS criminal investigators, as The Daily Beast first reported in August. Those agents specialize solely in financial crimes with a tax nexus; their cooperation was an early indicator that money mattered to Mueller.
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Besides that, Mueller’s probe is causing bipartisan anxiety in Washington. The indictment of Manafort and Gates mentioned two lobbying firms—referring to them only as “Company A” and “Company B”—which are widely assumed to be the Podesta Group and Mercury LLC. Within hours of the indictment’s release, Tony Podesta resigned from his firm. He’d previously drawn criticism for helping Manafort push Kremlin-friendly talking points to Capitol Hill offices.
“The Manafort and Gates indictment left a number of torpedoes in the water,” said Turley. “We’re just waiting to see who they hit. One of the most likely targets is Tony Podesta.”
The only person in a position to constrain Mueller and his deputies is Rosenstein, who has been overseeing all Trump/Russia matters since Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal. A former Justice Department official who worked under now-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told The Daily Beast that he’s unlikely to rein in Mueller at all.
“As long as Rod is supervising, he is never going to put Mueller under any kind of pinch,” he said. “That’s just the way Rod operates.”
It means that as long as Rosenstein stays in place, Mueller will likely be able to follow that money trail wherever it leads.
- Discussion
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Oh Paulie…. https://t.co/81ji2FsNnX
— John Schindler (@20committee) December 27, 2017
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