A Federal grand jury in Washington has approved the first charges in the investigation being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller, CNN reported first Friday night.
NBC NEWS (@nbcnews) reports, CNN cited sources briefed on the matter in reporting that the grand jury approved charges, but the network said that the charges are sealed under orders from a federal judge and it was unclear what the charges are or who they are against. The Wall Street Journal (@wsj) later Friday also reported that the first charges have been filed, citing a source.
We can take a few things from this news. 1) The Russian investigation is not a nothingburger. Even if these first round of arrest don’t directly tie into Trump and Russian collusion, they have managed to lead to criminal charges against someone. This is how you start a criminal conspiracy or R.I.C.O indictment. The charging indictment doesn’t always need to begin together in order to end together. Think of it like a row of dominoes all lined up. First you line them up. When you push the first one over the rest will fall shortly afterward. 2) Contrary to what some Republicans are saying, the Russia probe is not a waste of time, and it’s producing results. 3) This news likely explains why Fox News and some Republicans have started pushing the Hilary-Uranium story so hard lately. Outside of distract from the real story, the Hilary-Uranium talk is more of a tool for Republicans to use to say that Mueller is not fit to lead this investigation. According to those Republicans, Mueller is somehow mixed up in the uranium narrative, mixed up in shady business with Hilary Clinton, or somehow on the Democratic payroll.
Republicans and Republican supporting analyst on the television stations have been scrambling around since the story broke last night. They are wildly throwing accusations and conspiracy theories around in the hope that the real story will somehow go away. It doesn’t seem to be working. No matter how loud Republicans scream and yell, it doesn’t change the fact that someone is going to jail Monday…….and it’s not Hilary Clinton or Barrack Obama. My guess is that it’s Paul Manafort. Mueller has already warned him that an indictment against him was forthcoming. Manafort is the likely candidate. but it can be anyone mixed up with Donald Trump. Who do you think it will be? Let me know in the comments!
A) Paul Manafort
B) Michael Flynn
C) Roger Stone
D) Donald Trump Jr.
E) Other
