Which Trump toadie will be toast
ARRESTS ARE imminent after a federal grand jury in D.C. approved the first charges arising from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
The charges remain sealed, and the targets are not known, fueling speculation about the nature of the indictments, who will be taken into custody and where the probe now stands.
Mueller has been in charge of the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin since May.
CNN first reported the indictment on Friday, citing sources briefed in the matter.
“If the Special Counsel finds it necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a May 17 letter appointing Mueller.
While the subjects of the first indictments are not yet clear, there are several top associates of President Trump who are being eyed as possible targets.
The Republican lobbyist and Trump campaign manager has reportedly been on the FBI’s radar since at least 2014 for his consulting work in Ukraine and shady financial, real estate and possible money laundering dealings.
Manafort’s Virginia home was raided in July and people close to him have been issued subpoenas.
Michael Zeldin, a lawyer who served as a special assistant to Mueller when he was director of the FBI, suggested an indictment could be used to flip Manafort.
“There is a lot of pressure on people who are under investigation to cooperate with Mueller after said. this indictment,” Zeldin
Trump’s short-lived national security adviser stepped down in February after less than a month on the job after he was caught lying about contacts with Russian officials.
Flynn spoke on the phone with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak after the Obama administration announced sanctions on Moscow, expelling diplomats and other measures over the election.
The former Army general was also paid more than $500,000 in 2016 for lobbying that benefited the Turkish government and discredited U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.
A Trump campaign adviser on national security, Page is named in the controversial dossier made up of unverified claims about Trump and his associates.
Several memos in the dossier allege that Page met senior Russian officials as an emissary of the Trump campaign.
He discussed quid-pro-quo deals relating to sanctions, business opportunities and Russia’s interference in the election, according to the documents.
Page was already on the FBI’s radar after he was a witness in the 2013 federal prosecution of a Russian spy who tried to cultivate him as a source, according to reports.
Stone, a longtime friend and adviser to the President, has been questioned by Congress about his connections to Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange. WikiLeaks published emails hacked from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, during the election. Mueller is reportedly looking at the President’s son-in-law’s fiTHE