Boost for Mueller inquiry

The conviction of President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chair and the guilty plea by his former personal lawyer on Tuesday have brought Russia prosecutor Robert Mueller sorely needed relief as political pressure mounts for him to wind up the 15-month-old investigation.

The cases of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen will not end Trump’s crusade to tar Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt”, a furious effort aimed at undermining any effort to put the US leader on trial.

But experts say every win counts for the special prosecutor, with a growing record of success making it more likely he will secure co-operation from future witnesses.

With a crucial congressional looming in November, Trump is desperate to convince voters the investigation is politically biased, in hopes of protecting his crucial Republican majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

His first reaction to the results in the two cases on Tuesday was to again insist that there is no basis to Mueller’s investigation.

“It doesn’t involve me.

“It had nothing to do with Russian collusion. We continue the witch hunt,” Trump said.

Mueller has an uphill battle to prove allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election – and that Trump has sought to obstruct his investigation.

While the evidence was strong, the Manafort case was focused on his dealings separate to the 2016 campaign and not directly related to Russia.

The Cohen case, tried by New York federal prosecutors on a referral from Mueller, also lacked a collusion angle.

Even if not about collusion, both cases underscored that Mueller is not pursuing frivolous charges, as his critics claim.

“Manafort’s conviction shows that Mueller’s investigation is far from a witch hunt,” Democratic congressman Adam Schiff said.

“It also shows his campaign and administration were rife with people with a history of unscrupulous business dealings and concerning ties to overseas interests.”

Both cases showed that Mueller, a taciturn 74-year-old former FBI director, is working quickly and efficiently.

Since he was named in May 2017, he has not commented publicly on the progress of his operation or responded to the president’s attacks.

But he has indicted 33 individuals, 25 of them Russians, and three companies.

Five have negotiated guilty pleas on reduced charges, including Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former deputy campaign chair and Manafort aide Richard Gates, and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

Michael German, formerly an FBI agent and now at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the Manafort verdict was an important step forward.

“Every win is important building to the ultimate fruition of the investigation,” he said.