Russia meddling case: Expect more disclosures
SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET Focus shifts to proceedings on Tuesday,Friday
WASHINGTON: More revelations are expected in coming days in connection with the Russia meddling case in court filings that US special counsel Robert Mueller is expected to go ahead with on Tuesday and later this week, that could prove damaging for President Donald Trump.
Mueller’s office is expected file its sentencing recommendation for former national security Adviser Michael Flynn, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, on Tuesday.
On Friday, the special counsel is likely to explain to a court why its rescinding a plea deal with Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chair.
Both filings are expected to yield more revelations as a general sense is taking root that the special counsel is in the closing stages of the investigations.
Flynn is to be sentenced on December 18, Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, is to be sentenced on December 12.
The escalating sense of anticipation has been fed by a a string of tweets unleashed by Trump on his return from the G-20 summit in Argentina in which he has gone after Mueller and sought a longer jail sentence for Cohen while praising Roger Stone, a former associate, for not testifying against him.
Experts have said these tweets on Cohen and Stone could amount to an attempt by the country’s top elected official to influence witnesses and judicial processes, which could amount of obstruction of justice, a charge that Mueller could already be looking into, over Trump’s past actions and remarks.
Flynn was among the first top Trump aides ensnared in the Russia meddling probe when he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials, including former ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak.
As the administration’s national security advisor, he had discussed US sanctions against Russia with the officials in December 2016.
In the sentencing recommendation, Mueller could add more information and context to the case.
For lying to the FBI, he could be sentenced to five hours, but under the plea deal he might land something from zero to six months.
The Manafort filing expected on Friday is expected to yield a lot more.
The special counsel is livid that the former Trump campaign lied after agreeing to a plea deal and it will explain in court why it is withdrawing the deal and could cite new evidence and information about the case.
On December 12, Cohen is to be sentenced, and to earn himself a lighter sentence or none at all, he is cooperating fully with four investigations: the special counsel, US attorney for southern district of New York, New York attorney l and New York tax officials - in some which he has implicated Trump.
Cohen was once ready to take a bullet for the president, and now he is spilling details of all the work he did for Trump.
He has admitted to lying to congress to protect Trump from the Russia probe and has said negotiations for a Trump Tower project planned in Moscow had continue well into the Trump candidacy.
Trump has called him a “weak person” for turning on him to earn himself a lesser sentence. But he continues to speak against him routinely.
“‘Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.’ You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself,” the president wrote on Twitter Monday.