Special counsel is bad news for Trump, Putin
The Justice Department has now appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to look into connections between President Trump’s campaign and the Russian government. This is bad news for a White House that will now be living with the Russian issue for months, if not years, to come.
But there’s one other president for whom this is bad news: Vladimir Putin, leader of the Russian Federation. The last thing the Kremlin wants is a spotlight in the hands of a tough and experienced former FBI director.
The best kind of sabotage is the kind that does its damage without being discovered, and so far, the Kremlin has had a free ride. Russian involvement in U.S. politics, from the ubiquitous dirty money of Russian mobsters to the operations of Russia’s intelligence services, has been clouded by the multiple scandals now engulfing the Trump White House.
Until now, Congress and the American people have not had the time, resources or tenacity — or in some cases, the desire — to examine the intricate personal relationships, confusing money trails and esoteric Internet chicanery that constitute Russia’s campaign of political warfare against the United States. This lack of interest suited Putin just fine.
The Russian president and his intelligence services have been conducting relentless political warfare for years, not only against America but also its NATO allies. From the Kremlin’s pretense of knowing nothing about American defector Edward Snowden to its arms-length puppetry of Wiki- Leaks, the Russians have been on a winning streak against the West that culminated in their brazen interference in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. The Russians wanted to see the vaunted institutions of American democracy in chaos, and they got it.
A special counsel is an especially worrisome development for Russia and its spooks. Unlike a congressional or bipartisan commission that would have to accommodate partisan interests and negotiate the scope of its inquiries, Mueller has a wide remit to follow Russian paths into U.S. politics wherever they go.
Whether the result is indictments or a complete exoneration of the Trump campaign is, in a fundamental sense, unimportant to the Russians. More important to them is that we will learn things about Russian intelligence and mafia activities — often indistinguishable from each other — that Moscow’s elites would rather stay hidden. They will involve secrets and methods the Russians do not want investigated, especially by an FBI veteran.
Perhaps those with the most to worry about are people who have been links between the Russian dictator and the U.S. political system. Putin is not only a former intelligence officer, he is a mafia boss. Men like him do not hesitate to protect their interests in the most certain way possible.
The Mueller appointment is likely causing as much anxiety in Moscow as in Washington — but for very different reasons.