While many opine that Robert Mueller will never lay a glove on Donald Trump, two lawyers representing clients targeted in the Russian probe, strongly disagree.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president. 

While many legal experts contend that Mueller lacks the standing to bring criminal charges against Trump, at least two attorneys working with clients swept up in the Russia probe told POLITICO they consider it possible that Mueller could indict the president for obstruction of justice. 

Neither attorney claimed to have specific knowledge of Mueller’s plans. Both based their opinions on their understanding of the law; one also cited his interactions with the special counsel’s team, whose interviews have recently examined whether Trump tried to derail the probe into his campaign’s Russia ties. 

“If I were a betting man, I’d bet against the president,” said one of the lawyers. 

The second attorney, who represents a senior Trump official, speculated that Mueller could try to bring an indictment against Trump even if he expects the move to draw fierce procedural challenges from the president’s lawyers – if only to demonstrate the gravity of his findings. 

“It’s entirely possible that Mueller may go that route on the theory that, as an open question, it should be for the courts to decide,” the attorney said. “Even if the indictment is dismissed, it puts maximum pressure on Congress to treat this with the independence and intellectual honesty that it will never, ever get."

Well that's interesting, isn't it?

There is of course lots of speculation flying around right now, but you do have to give a large dose of credibility to those who have faced off against Mueller in this particular investigation process.

Further down the article offers opinions from legal experts who say that Mueller has no path to an indictment.

But let's also keep in mind that from what we have seen recently it is clear that something has Trump in almost a blind panic.

Pres. Trump has now targeted *every* senior investigator who has touched the Russia probe.

Evidence shows the memo battle is about Rosenstein, not FISA warrants — he and Mueller are the only people left: pic.twitter.com/n675mRcCaS

— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) February 1, 2018

And these are certainly the actions of a person who fears the outcome of this investigation.

Atlantic journalist lays out why Robert Mueller will never indict Donald Trump. Not what we want to hear, but he makes a good point.

Courtesy of The Atlantic:  

Mueller will not indict Trump for obstruction of justice or for any other crime. Period. Full stop. End of story. Speculations to the contrary are just fantasy.

(Yes, I wanted to stop reading right about here as well, but I urge you to at least read to the bottom of the post.)

He won’t do it for the good and sufficient reason that the Department of Justice has a long-standing legal opinion that sitting presidents may not be indicted. First issued in 1973 during the Nixon era, the policy was reaffirmed in 2000, during the Clinton era. These rules bind all Department of Justice employees, and Mueller, in the end, is a Department of Justice employee. More to the point, if we know anything about Mueller, we think we know that he follows the rules—all of them. Even the ones that restrict him in ways he would prefer they not. And if he were to choose not to follow the rules, that, in turn, would be a reasonable justification for firing him. So … the special counsel will not indict the president. 

What can Mueller do if he finds evidence of criminality involving the president? He can and will (as authorized by Department of Justice regulations) file a report on his findings with the attorney general (or, since Attorney General Sessions is, in this case, recused, with the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein). Rosenstein will then be faced with the important decision of whether and how to make that report public—whether to convey it to Congress or not; whether to release it publicly or not. The regulations are so vague (they say only that he “may determine that public release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions”) that they, in effect, give Rosenstein plenary discretion to do whatever he thinks is in the best interest of the country. 

So, every time you read about the threat to fire Mueller, remember this—the critical actor in most future scenarios is not Mueller, but Rosenstein. Knowing Rosenstein personally, I have high confidence that he will make what he thinks is the best decision for the country—the same may not be true of his replacement (or of the replacement attorney general, should Sessions be fired). That, of course, is why the highly dubious “secret memo” prepared by House Republicans reportedly targets Rosenstein—even though he is a Trump appointee who advocated firing Comey, Trump supporters fear he will follow the rule of law.

Well that sucks.

It also could help to explain not only why Trump seems so convinced that the Mueller investigation will not end his presidency, but also why the Republicans are attempting to undermine Rosenstein.

If Trump replaces Rosenstein with his own guy, he could make sure that Mueller's findings, no matter how scandalous, will never see the light of day.

That means, and has likely always meant, that the only way to remove Trump from office is through impeachment.

And the only way to accomplish that is to flood the House and the Senate with as many Democrats as possible.

In other words it is up to us, the voters.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

When I think of all the faux scandals that the Right Wing drummed up to go after Obama and his administration, and compare that to the very real scandals that seem to pop up almost every day with this new guy, I am almost left speechless.

If President Obama had one, even ONE, of the scandals orbiting around Trump they would have literally locked him up and thrown away the key.

Former DNC Chairman, Howard Dean, pretty confident that Jared Kushner will soon also be indicted.

Howard Dean: ‘Jared Kushner will be indicted for money laundering’ and ‘the next step will be Trump family’#TrumpRussia pic.twitter.com/qGIc7SO61r

— PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) November 5, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean said he thinks there's a good chance President Trump's son-in-law, White House adviser Jared Kushner, will be indicted. 

“I expect there’s a good likelihood Jared Kushner will be indicted for money laundering,” Dean said Sunday on MSNBC. 

“And then we’re going to have to see how far the Russian involvement goes. This is serious business. These people are undermining our democracy.” 

Dean said it appears special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether President Trump "engaged with a foreign power in order to get where he got." 

"That's a very serious matter for this country," Dean said. 

Dean also said he thinks Mueller is working his way up from the bottom. The former DNC chairman expects that eventually "either the Flynns are going to plead guilty or they're going to ... cooperate for some leniency." 

"And the next step is going to be the Trump family itself," he said.

Now you might consider simply dismissing Dean's statement as wishful thinking, after all he is not an investigative journalist or prosecutor, but then there is this recent revelation courtesy of The Daily Beast:  

The so-called Paradise Papers were leaked to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the same publication that obtained the “Panama Papers.” Süddeutsche Zeitung shared the new documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which led a global effort of 96 media organizations from 67 countries to pore through the records. The findings were published on Sunday. The documents show that many of the wealthy individuals Trump brought into his administration have worked to legally store their money in offshore havens where they would be free from taxation in the United States. Trump has promised repeatedly to “drain the swamp,” in condemning the idea that well-connected individuals in Washington, D.C., preserve their own interests at the expense of the rest of the country.

Top White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is also implicated. The documents reveal that Russian tech leader Yuri Milner invested $850,000 in a startup called Cadre that Kushner co-founded in 2014. 

Milner has long had a reputation in Silicon Valley as a big-league investor; his firm at one point owned major chunks of both Facebook and Twitter. But Milner was never considered particularly Kremlin-connected. These new documents call that reputation into question. The investing arm of Gazprom, the state-backed energy company, financed a share of Facebook worth up to $1 billion; a Kremlin-owned bank invested $191 million into a Milner firm, and some of that money was then injected into Twitter. 

Despite Milner’s investment in his startup, Kushner said in July that he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed-door meeting that he never “relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector.”

Well gee, apparently that's not true.

Also keep in mind that Kushner was in attendance at that Trump Tower meeting where Junior offered to change policies in exchange for dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

So would it be any surprise if Robert Mueller indicted Jared Kushner sometime soon?

Nope, but it would be a surprise if he didn't.

English professor with a law degree explains why today's revelation that Mueller may be ready to indict Michael Flynn is such a big hairy deal.

Not to beat this drum again, but remember: if Mueller is willing to offer the former NSA of the United States a deal, his TARGET is Trump.

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) November 5, 2017

2/ You don't flip the former NSA of the United States to get anyone but Trump (though you'll take the AG and Trump's family in the bargain).

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) November 5, 2017

3/ Moreover—just for those unfamiliar with investigations—you don't flip Flynn unless you have reason to believe he can *incriminate* Trump.

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) November 5, 2017

4/ And finally, you don't use Flynn to get Trump on Obstruction—Mueller already has that case via other witnesses. No—this is about Russia.

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) November 5, 2017

5/ So while today's breaking Flynn news may seem ho-hum—didn't we *know* he'd be indicted?—this is bigger than any news in the probe so far.

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) November 5, 2017

Well, isn't THAT interesting?

I actually think that Mueller is ultimately targeting Trump himself as well.

In fact I think Mueller is willing to hand out deals like Halloween candy to get the big fish.

And I firmly believe that big fish has an orange tinged anus like mouth on its stupid face.

By the way I agree with this as well.

If Flynn gets indicted, the condition for his bail should include that this plays nonstop during his house arrest. pic.twitter.com/fddLfjVMYB

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) November 5, 2017

Talk about schadenfreude

It appears that Michael Flynn and his son are next up in the Robert Mueller indictment sweepstakes.

Courtesy of NBC News:

Federal investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser and his son as part of the probe into Russia's intervention in the 2016 election, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. 

Michael T. Flynn, who was fired after just 24 days on the job, was one of the first Trump associates to come under scrutiny in the federal probe now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. 

Mueller is applying renewed pressure on Flynn following his indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, three sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

The investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming days to gain more information surrounding Flynn's lobbying work, including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents about his overseas contacts, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.

And just to add to the evidence that Flynn was working in cahoots with the Russians, there is also this: 

Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn followed five Twitter accounts based out of the Russian-backed “troll factory” in St. Petersburg—and pushed their messages at least three times in the month before the 2016 election. 

Over 2,750 troll accounts based out of the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency were made public by House investigators on Wednesday. The accounts, some of which had previously been identified by The Daily Beast as Russian-generated, were pulled from Twitter due to their ties to the troll factory over the past three months. 

The Daily Beast had previously discovered Flynn, Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, and Trump campaign digital director Brad Parscale retweeted Ten_GOP several times in the month before the election.

We cannot possibly be surprised by this as I think most of us have known that Flynn is guilty, guilty, guilty for some time now.

I think the only thing that remotely surprises me is that he was not the first one indicted.

But this also likely means that after Mueller has rounded up the obvious suspects, he then shifts his attention to the persons of interest that are closest to Trump's inner circle.

"Paper trail leads directly back to Mike Pence—proof Pence knew Michael Flynn was a Russian agent" @Funder on #AMJoy https://t.co/mK7L0yJI2Y

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) November 5, 2017

So is this when Trump fires Jeff Sessions and appoints an Attorney General that will allow him to get rid of Robert Mueller? Possibly.

And Mitch McConnell does not appear at all interested in keeping that from happening.

Courtesy of Politico:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Saturday that special counsel Robert Mueller is not in need of congressional protection from President Donald Trump. 

"I don’t hear much pressure to pass anything," McConnell told MSNBC's Hugh Hewitt. "There’s been no indication that the President or the White House are not cooperating with the special counsel." 

McConnell added, "I think the view up here is let him do his job."

Senators on both sides are submitting bills to protect the Mueller investigation and Yertle the Turtle just sits on his hands and does nothing.

If I were a cynical person I might think that the fix was in.

By the way according to a former adviser to Vladimir Putin, he believes he was responsible for Trump's victory, even if the Republicans do not:

It’s really difficult to understand what was the level of Putin’s involvement or blessing in that. After November, after Trump was elected, the situation changed. Now Putin understands, or he believed at least, that he was strong. I don’t know who believed in America that Putin elected Trump, but Putin believed that. Putin believed that, and that has become a political factor.

So yes, Robert Mueller and his investigation need to be protected, because as they say on the X-Files, "The truth is out there."

Robert Mueller has already questioned top White House aide who supervised cooperating witness George Papadopoulos.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Sam Clovis, the former top Trump campaign official who supervised a man now cooperating with the FBI's Russia investigation, was questioned last week by special counsel Robert Mueller's team and testified before the investigating grand jury, a person with first-hand knowledge of the matter told NBC News. 

Clovis, who is President Donald Trump's pick to be the Department of Agriculture's chief scientist, could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Victoria Toensing, would neither confirm nor deny his interactions with the Mueller team.

The court documents unsealed Monday describe emails between Papadopoulos and an unnamed "campaign supervisor." The supervisor responded "Great work" after Papadopoulos discussed his interactions with Russians who wanted to arrange a meeting with Trump and Russian leaders. 

Toensing confirmed that Clovis was the campaign supervisor in the emails. Clovis, a former Air Force officer and Pentagon official who unsuccessfully ran for Iowa State Treasurer in 2014, was the Trump campaign's chief policy adviser and national co-chairman.

Well now isn't THAT interesting?

So here is yet another top level campaign official who not only knew that there were conversations with the Russians, but considered those interactions "great work."

We all learned late yesterday why the FBI has former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort under strict house arrest.

The man has three passports:

Manafort currently has three US passports, each under a different number. He has submitted 10 passport applications in roughly as many years, prosecutors said. 

This year, Manafort traveled to Mexico, China and Ecuador with a phone and email account registered under a fake name. (The name was not disclosed in the filings.)

What's more that guy has either has 28 million or 63 million, depending on which application you go by.

So yeah, he's a flight risk.

So how is all of this going over in the Trump White House?

Not well it seems.

Courtesy of Vanity Fair:  

Although the White House had been anticipating charges in Robert Mueller’s “witch hunt” for months, news that one former adviser, George Papadopoulos, had pleaded guilty, and begun working with the F.B.I., exploded like a bomb. Rising before dawn and gluing himself to his television, Trump at first felt vindicated by the charges against Paul Manafort and Richard Gates, which were seemingly unconnected to Russia. “NO COLLUSION!” he tweeted triumphantly, after he spoke with his lawyers. Others were reportedly relieved that the first batch of indictments did not include Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn. (Manafort and Gates have pleaded not guilty.) 

But the president’s mood darkened after hearing that Papadopoulos had, apparently, turned state’s witness. “The walls are closing in,” one senior Republican in close contact with top staffers told the Post, echoing other sources who described Trump as angry and agitated. “Everyone is freaking out.” The New York Times reported that White House aides were “stunned and alarmed.”

I swear there is not enough popcorn in the world to cover all of this. 

If you think Donald Trump is losing his mind over these Mueller indictments watch his constant defender Sean Hannity essentially have a psychotic break on air.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

On Monday night, Fox News’ bombastic host Sean Hannity delivered what he called his “most important monologue ever” — and attempted to, somehow, blame Bill and Hillary Clinton for Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election that the latter lost. 

At one point, Hannity referred to the former Democratic nominee as “President Clinton” before correcting himself and calling her “President Clinton wannabe” — a slip of the tongue that Twitter certainly didn’t miss.

Later in the segment, he began to raise his voice when discussing his distress with a lack of indictment for Clinton over her private email server scandal. But it was when he began touting the Clintons’ relationship to Russians that were cited in the infamous “golden showers” dossier that he becomes the most unhinged. 

“Of course, they use Russian sources, bought and paid for by Hillary, the DNC and Obama to smear Trump and influence the election with Russian lies,” Hannity claimed. 

"President Clinton?"  Somebody needs to get Dr. Freud on the phone STAT!

How weird is it to hear a commentator on a conservative news outlet arguing that federal indictments are not fair?

What is not so weird however is the desperate attempts to deflect blame, minimize these indictments by the Mueller team, and Hannity's obsession with pointing the finger at Hillary Clinton.

Fox News came into its own during the Monica Lewinsky years, and attacking the Clintons is their bread and butter after all.

I typically avoid watching anything on Fox News, and what I do see I usually find irritating, but I have to admit that this Hannity segment was pretty damn entertaining.

The only thing that could have made it any better is if he had actually started banging his head on his desk.

Oh well, maybe next time.

First up in the Mueller indictment sweepstakes is former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate. Update!

WATCH: Paul Manafort walking into FBI headquarters with his attorney. pic.twitter.com/Ebo1jPZqUH

— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) October 30, 2017

Courtesy of the New York Times:

Paul Manafort surrendered to federal authorities Monday morning, after a person close to the case said the first charges were filed in a special counsel investigation. 

The charges against Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, were not immediately clear but represent a significant escalation in a special counsel investigation that has cast a shadow over the president’s first year in office. Also charged was Mr. Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates, who was also told to surrender on Monday, the person said. 

Mr. Manafort walked into the F.B.I.’s field office in Washington at about 8:15 a.m. with his lawyer. 

Mr. Gates is a longtime protégé and junior partner of Mr. Manafort. His name appears on documents linked to companies that Mr. Manafort’s firm set up in Cyprus to receive payments from politicians and businesspeople in Eastern Europe, records reviewed by The New York Times show. 

Mr. Manafort had been under investigation for violations of federal tax law, money laundering and whether he appropriately disclosed his foreign lobbying.

I think a lot of people were putting their money on Paul Manafort from the moment we first heard about these upcoming indictments.

This Rick Gates guy is a complete surprise to me but I was just watching MSNBC and they were  explaining how deeply involved he was with the Trump campaign, the planning of the inauguration, and a Trump SuperPac right up until the spring of this year.

So though he may not be a familiar name to most of us, he was in it up to his armpits.

These are clearly only the first indictments that the Mueller team has in the chamber, and we can only speculate as to who's up next.

However what this does show without a shadow of a doubt is that Robert Mueller did not come to play. He is going to take these criminals down one by one, and there is nothing that Trump or his associates can do to stop him.

Update: Sources are now saying that this indictment contains 12 counts focused on conspiracy and money laundering.

Update 2: According to the indictment this investigation has been going on for at least a year. Mueller was only assigned to be the Special Counsel since May.

Update 3: From CNN:  

The indictment against the Manafort and Gates contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. 

The charges do not cover any activities related to the campaign, though it's possible Mueller could add additional charges.

That part about adding additional charges is being echoed by essentially every news outlet besides Fox News right now. 

They're still waiting for the Hillary indictments to be handed down.

Check out what this frequent MSNBC contributor had to say about Trump's response to the Mueller indictment.

Multiple sources say Trump “completely lost his mind” after he found out Mueller’s filed charges & now he’s “having an epic meltdown” #AMJoy

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 28, 2017

Sr GOP official says they are scrambling to keep Republican Members of Congress from talking about impeaching Trump on weekend shows. #AMJoy

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 28, 2017

“If u thought you’ve seen crazy out of Trump, u haven’t seen anything yet, everyone should be terrified.” Fmr GOP Senate staffer said #AMJoy

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 28, 2017

“Trump & entire GOP was blindsided by Mueller filing charges this soon, we expected them but not til Christmas.” Fmr GOP Senate staff #AMJoy

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 28, 2017

We might question Dworkin's sources in the interest of accuracy, but personally I think this sounds exactly as I would expect Trump to respond.

After all he has a pattern, and this certainly fits that pattern.

Besides this is exactly how I hoped he would respond.

P.S. I wrote this first thing this morning, and then later I looked to see if Trump had tweeted anything that would give these statements more credibility.

Twitler did not disappoint.

Never seen such Republican ANGER & UNITY as I have concerning the lack of investigation on Clinton made Fake Dossier (now $12,000,000?),....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017

...the Uranium to Russia deal, the 33,000 plus deleted Emails, the Comey fix and so much more. Instead they look at phony Trump/Russia,....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017

..."collusion," which doesn't exist. The Dems are using this terrible (and bad for our country) Witch Hunt for evil politics, but the R's...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017

...are now fighting back like never before. There is so much GUILT by Democrats/Clinton, and now the facts are pouring out. DO SOMETHING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017

All of this "Russia" talk right when the Republicans are making their big push for historic Tax Cuts & Reform. Is this coincidental? NOT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017

Damn! I hope someday to see this guy questioned under oath by Mueller and his team, because I have no doubt that he will trip himself up in the first ten minutes.

The guy possesses absolutely no chill. 

Robert Mueller version of "From Russia with Love."

Thought in light of todays news this would be very fitting.
This is amazing. #MuellerTime #Comeyday pic.twitter.com/67x9M76bUG

— AgentHades (@AgentHades) October 28, 2017

Yes, it's a little wishful thinking perhaps.

But you have to admit that it is well done.

You knew this was coming, conservatives ramping up calls for Robert Mueller's resignation.

Courtesy of Fox News (Huge surprise.): 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is facing a fresh round of calls from conservative critics for his resignation from the Russia collusion probe, amid revelations that have called into question the FBI’s own actions and potentially Mueller’s independence. 

This week’s bombshell that a controversial anti-Trump dossier was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign has Republicans asking to what extent the FBI – which received some of the findings and briefly agreed to pay the same researcher to gather intelligence on Trump and Russia – used the politically connected material. 

Hill investigators also are looking into a Russian firm’s uranium deal that was approved by the Obama administration in 2010 despite reports that the FBI – then led by Mueller – had evidence of bribery involving a subsidiary of that firm. 

Critics question whether Mueller’s own ties to the bureau as well as fired FBI director James Comey now render him compromised as he investigates allegations of Russian meddling and collusion with Trump officials in the 2016 race.

I really think this is less about the newly surfaced revelations that a Clinton attorney and the DNC helped finance Christopher Steele's investigation, and more about the fact that Mueller and his team are ready to start the indictments.

Things are getting much too hot, so of course Trump supporters are going to be going after Robert Mueller, Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS, Hillary Clinton, and anybody else associated with these investigations to deflect blame and distract from the indictments.

And the Republicans in Congress appear to be going along as well:

President Trump and Republicans in Congress are demanding new scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s actions as secretary of state, potentially jeopardizing investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election just as the probes are closing in on Trump’s inner circle. 

In the span of a week, House and Senate Republican leaders announced two investigations into Obama-era decisions involving a uranium deal that increased Russia’s share of the U.S. nuclear market — and another into how the FBI handled Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. 

Trump has cheered on the new Republican-driven investigations, which have resurrected some of the president’s most- favored jabs against Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein has seen all of this before.

Carl Bernstein: Trump ‘Trying to Sabotage’ Mueller Investigation https://t.co/EDncGpAINd (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/8zDU61etGH

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) October 28, 2017

In the 70's the Republicans refused to allow the president to sabotage the investigation.

Do they still have that courage today? 

Russia investigation roundup.

Courtesy of CNN: 

The IRS is now sharing information with special counsel Robert Mueller about key Trump campaign officials, after the two entities clashed this summer over both the scope of the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and a raid on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's home, people briefed on the matter tell CNN. 

Part of the concern centered on the far-reaching and broad requests from Mueller's team. In the case of Manafort, Mueller's investigators are reaching back 11 years as they investigate possible tax and financial crimes, according to search warrant documents. Mueller is bound by a written order issued by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May which allows the special counsel to investigate "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." 

After several months of being at odds, one source said, the IRS Criminal Investigation division is now sharing information about campaign associates, including Manafort and former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. The sharing happened after the two camps reached an agreement following consultation with officials at the Treasury Department.

The IRS had already been working with the FBI since even before the election, but now that they are also sharing information with Mueller's team I imagine that Trump's orange tinted anus just slammed shut hard.

However that is by no means the only avenue that Mueller and his team are exploring.

Also courtesy of CNN: 

Special counsel investigators could start interviewing current and former White House staff as soon as later this week regarding the Russian probe, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. 

One source cautioned it is still being worked out with Robert Mueller's office and said it might be delayed until next week. 

As CNN previously reported, among the people Mueller has expressed interest in speaking with are former and current White House staffers whom investigators consider witnesses, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former press secretary Sean Spicer, communications director Hope Hicks, White House counsel Don McGahn, communications adviser Josh Raffel and associate counsel James Burnham. 

Mueller's team also approached the White House about interviewing staffers who were aboard Air Force One for the creation of the initial response to news of Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, sources previously told CNN.

This news has inspired Spicey to finally hire a lawyer. But not just any lawyer.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

The president’s former press secretary has tapped Chris Mead, a high-powered criminal defense attorney, to handle issues related to the special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, The Daily Beast has learned. 

According to his bio page at the firm London & Mead, Mead specializes in white collar criminal defense and Congressional investigations, as well as issues related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act——a law that bars Americans from bribing foreign government officials. His law firm bio also boasts that he gained “extensive experience in money laundering” prosecutions when he was a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

"Bribing foreign governments" and "money laundering," now isn't THAT interesting?

And Spicy may need that kind of high priced legal help, because according to Senator Blumenthal the first indictments are coming soon.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Criminal charges against two former top advisers to President Donald Trump are virtually certain, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday. 

Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort are almost sure to be indicted as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Connecticut senator told POLITICO. 

“I'm about 99 percent sure there will be some criminal charges from this investigation,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Blumenthal has also served as a U.S. attorney and spent 20 years as his state's attorney general.

I have a feeling that this week is going to be very interesting indeed.

And by the way let me take a moment to address the Chicken Little's in the group who keep suggesting that we are allowing Trump to distract us from this investigation with his tweets and crazy ass comments to the press.

Chill the fuck out. We can absolutely entertain more than one thought in our heads at a time.

For my part I am never NOT thinking about this Russian investigation, but that does not mean I am unable to also post about a variety of other topics.

There is almost too much to cover in a single day, but we do our best.

However it cannot simply be Russia, Russia, Russia 24 hours a day.

That would be boring even to those of us with a laser like focus on those investigations.

Don't you worry when a new story breaks about the investigation you will most definitively see it covered here on IM.

Now if you will excuse me I have a Sarah Palin story to write up next.

Former Texas Congressman charged with stealing charity donations to fund his campaign.

Rep. Steve Stockman and Captain Poopy Pants.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

A former United States representative from Texas and one of his aides were indicted on Tuesday on charges that they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for charity, some of which was used to illegally finance his campaigns. 

The former representative, Steve Stockman, 60, and the former director of special projects in his congressional office, Jason Posey, 46, were charged in a 28-count indictment related to the alleged yearslong fraud scheme. The charges included mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and money laundering, the Justice Department said in a statement. 

Mr. Stockman, a Republican, solicited $1.25 million in charitable donations from May 2010 to October 2014 that was later used for other purposes, the Justice Department said.

What? A Republican politician stealing from the needy? Say it ain't so!

Of course Stockman is pleading not guilty, because you know taking responsibility is such a libtard thing to do.

United States charges two Russian intelligence agents for hacking.

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

The US has announced charges against two Russian intelligence officers and two hackers over a massive Yahoo data breach that affected at least 1 billion user accounts. 

The indictment, unveiled by the justice department on Wednesday, said that the hack targeted the email accounts of Russian journalists and opposition politicians; former government officials in neighboring countries; and several US government figures, including “cyber security, diplomatic, military and White House personnel”. 

At a press conference in Washington, the acting assistant attorney general for national security, Mary McCord, said: “The department of justice is continuing to send a powerful message that we will not allow individuals, groups, nation-states, or a combination of them to compromise the privacy of our citizens, the economic interests of our companies or the security of our country.

The justice department has previously charged Russian hackers and hackers sponsored by the Chinese and Iranian governments, but Wednesday’s indictment marked the first criminal case for cybercrimes brought against Russian government officials. 

It comes amid intense political controversy over Russian interference in the US election, including a data breach of the Democratic National Committee.

The two intelligence agents were identified as  Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin, both of who worked for the Russian spy agency FSB, which is the modern day KGB.

There were also two freelance hackers named in the indictment, Alexsey Belan and Karim Baratov.

Baratov was arrested by the Canadian authorities, and currently Belan is in Russia, where the government is protecting him from extradition.

Author Thomas Reid got his hands on the indictment and started tweeting its rather disturbing contents.

Revealing two FSB officers with org setup, pictures, hint at a 3rd is a strong message even by historical standards. Could deter or escalate pic.twitter.com/4I0d4uGuUv

— Thomas Rid (@RidT) March 15, 2017

Important to note that 1st defendant—Dokuchaev—is *already* charged for treason in Moscow. https://t.co/gJ06EpS8M5

One possible reason: pic.twitter.com/w5X8X7Xoqy

— Thomas Rid (@RidT) March 15, 2017

Extraordinary: DoJ/FBI reveal what must be highly sensitive for FSB: specific *intra-Russian gov't targeting* < possibly deterrence attempt pic.twitter.com/pp3AB4leq0

— Thomas Rid (@RidT) March 15, 2017

I am particularly disturbed by this because I was also targeted and had to change my password twice.

Hopefully this is just the beginning and that the US has a stack of indictments they are ready to issue to round up the hackers responsible for the DNC hack, the White House hack, the Hillary Clinton Campaign hack, and every other hack directed at us from Donald Trump's puppet masters. 

Trump's buddy in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu, may be facing indictment on bribery charges.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

Police are likely to recommend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted following an investigation into bribery allegations, national broadcaster Channel 2 has reported. 

Multiple investigations into the leader were opened, but Case 1000 – which allegedly involves illegal gifts – was being treated as separate to the other ongoing investigations. 

The TV channel reported that Case 1000 was to be closed with a recommendation to indict the Israeli leader in the next six weeks. 

Mr Netanyahu was reportedly questioned under police caution three times as part of the inquiry. He is expected to be interviewed once more before the probe closes.

The leader is accused of accepting of tens of thousands of dollars in gifts – including suits and cigars – from wealthy businessmen. He has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

Well now we know why Donald Trump gets along so well with the Israel Prime Minister. 

Corrupt pieces of shit have so much in common with other corrupt pieces of shit.

Rep. Lieu's questioning of FBI Director Comey is something that those who still think that Hillary Clinton should have been indicted really need to see.

"The American people might be interested in knowing that all members of Congress receive security clearances just for being a member of Congress. We get to have private e-mail servers. We get to have private e-mail accounts. We can use multiple devices. We can take devices overseas."

So I guess people are right.

There really are a different set of rules for Hillary Clinton.

But that different set of rules does not do anything to protect her, instead it applies extra stringent guidelines to how she must conduct herself or risk being the subject of a witch hunt by the Republicans.

Donald Trump is now fundraising off of a promise to indict Hillary Clinton if he becomes President.

Um….WOW: Trump fundraising off promise to indict Clinton pic.twitter.com/3MpgsRwYIm

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) June 28, 2016

Okay correct me if I'm wrong, but I do not think I have ever heard of a presidential candidate asking for money to help him get elected so that the can ultimately send his opponent to jail.

I mean I'm sure that John Kerry felt that way about George W in 2004, but I certainly don't remember receiving a flyer in the mail asking me to send money for that purpose.

And once again this is yet another example of Trump not understanding the separation of powers, and that he himself cannot indict anybody, no matter what his ego might tell him.

Since it's the last primary day let's talk Hillary Clinton e-mails shall we?

This question of whether Hillary Clinton will or will not be indicted over her private server simply will not go away, despite a number of smart people weighing in and dismissing the possibility out of hand, including the Libertarian VP nominee, a University of Michigan Law Professor, and even one of Bernie Sanders own super delegates.

Sure there are still plenty of others, especially among the Right Wing and Sander's supporters, saying otherwise, but they clearly have an agenda.

So in an effort to put this whole thing behind us I decided to post a few factoids this morning.

First from Lanny Davis who is a Hillary supporter, and also a lawyer who provided legal council to Bill Clinton.

Courtesy of The Hill:

First, the former secretary of State did nothing illegal by having a private email system. The department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) pointed to “policies” that were violated but cited no laws that were violated and said these policies were inconsistently applied and need to be further clarified in the future. (This is a point I have made here before.)

Second, Clinton was not trying to hide her use of her own private email address. In fact, 90 percent of all the emails she sent went to State Department employees with a state.gov email address, which she thought, mistakenly, would be automatically preserved on the department’s email server. How could she be seeking to hide her use of a private email address if she sent her private email to so many people at State? (Not understanding how e-mail works is not an indictable crime.)

Third, no email received or sent by Clinton was labeled at any level of classification. Multiple references in the media and in the right-wing blogosphere to Clinton emails containing “classified” information all refer to post-facto opinions — what could be accurately called classification by hindsight. State Department experts disagreed with many of those opinions. (Lot's of differing opinions on this, but I tend to think that Davis is correct.)

Fourth, according to the OIG, there is no evidence that Clinton’s private server was ever successfully hacked. In other words, all the dire and dark warnings from partisan Republicans about the secretary of State risking the nation’s security by using a private server are, in fact, all speculation — based on no facts whatsoever. (Yes I know that this Guccifer fellow is bragging that he broke in, but so far there is no real evidence to back that up.)

 Fifth, as pointed out by the inspector general, there was ample precedent for the use of private emails for official and private business, from Colin Powell to senior aides for Condoleezza Rice. (True, though people for some reason want to differentiate between using a private e-mail address and having a private server.)

Okay so there are those who might dismiss this guy's take on the situation based on his relationship with the Clintons but he seems to have the main facts down.  (Yes I realize that dissenting opinions with links to back them up are being posted as we speak.)

Now I also happened to stumble across this post over at Crooks and Liars: 

First, many government officials have been using personal email for government business. I've been tracking several FOIA lawsuits for some time, and several have to do with government officials in various departments using personal email. 

The government doesn't encourage using personal email, and people can't access private email in secure areas, but for the most part, government officials have been allowed to use private email, as long as they make some effort to ensure the emails are FOIA searchable. In many cases, all the person would have to do is forward the email on to their government email address, or someone else's government email address. 

Now, as to the question of sending confidential email via private email address, the implications of doing so would be the same whether a person used a private email address, or a State email address. Email is inherently insecure. The general State email addresses are not secured to any degree beyond what most personal email addresses are secured. You can't use a personal email address to send confidential emails, but you can't use a State email address, either; not through the internet using a mobile device or home computer—not without very special precautions being taken. 

So, let's fixate a little less on the private versus State email address. The issue of using a private email address is solely about whether the email is transparent, not secure. 

The FBI doesn't care about transparency, only security. It only cares about whether the private email server Clinton used was hacked or not. We already know that the State Department's servers have been hacked.

Unless the Justice Department decides to indict several current and former employees of the State and other Departments—at least three Administrations back—and other assorted and sundry people, it's not going to indict Hillary Clinton.

Now this Crooks and Liars writer does not claim to have a law degree, but they seem to have a pretty good handle on the ins and outs of this "scandal."

However while this writer may not be a lawyer, Hillary Clinton IS a lawyer, as is her husband, and many of their close friends in the Clinton inner circle. Which means that if there were ANY possibility of an actual indictment, they would have already taken that into consideration.

Based on Hillary's attitude and overall mood on the campaign trail I tend to think she is not exactly losing any sleep over the possibility of being indicted.

And do you know who else has a law degree? President Obama, who said this about the e-mail server: 

“I continue to believe she has not jeopardized America’s national security,” the president said. “There’s a carelessness in terms of managing emails that she has owned and she recognizes. But I also think it is important to keep this in perspective.”

I will say once again that if the Democratic establishment REALLY thought there was a chance that Hillary would be indicted, they would have put the kibosh on her campaign a long time ago.

So no, Hillary Clinton is NOT going to be indicted over her e-mail server.

So the people voting in the primaries today can fill in the oval next to her name with complete confidence that the only obstacle between her and winning the White House is one Oompa Loompa colored egomaniac named Donald Trump.

And to be honest I really don't see him as that big of an obstacle.

New Libertarian party VP candidate drops a truth bomb about a possible Hillary Clinton indictment.

Courtesy of Law Newz: 

“I will give you one news tip,” he said. “All this stuff about Secretary Clinton’s use of email accounts and the report that came out, how she might get indicted, I’m not buying it. I used to be head of the criminal division of the Justice Department of the United States.” 

Todd pressed Weld on why he wasn’t buying the rumors. 

“I’m not buying it, you can’t indict somebody if there is no evidence of intent, and I don’t see it, I don’t see any evidence of criminal intent,” Weld said.

Yeah, no shit.

One of my favorite responses by the trolls lately is 'Well just wait until your queen is indicted, we'll see who laughs then."

Well they cannot see it at the time, but I am usually already laughing myself while I read that.

No, that is not what is going to happen no matter how hard the Right Wing conspiracy theorists and Bernie Bros may pray that it will.

Here was a simple step by step explanation that I actually found in the comment section for this article: 

1. Even now, there is NO LAW that says an SoS can't have and use a private cell phone for private purposes. 

2. Until 2013, there was NO LAW that said an SoS could not have and use a private cell phone thru private server she owned or controlled. 

3. DoS POLICY "required" an Sos in 2009 and after to advise Dos of her wish to use a private phone for personal purposes. But there was no criminal enforcement of that, All possible sanctions THEN were internal, and only applied so long as the person remained in the dept.

Yes I know there is an FBI investigation, but if you really think that is going to lead to criminal charges, then you are a victim of the Right Wing media whether you realize it or not.

Even IF Hillary's e-mail server was hacked it would still not be a big deal because so was the State Department's, which takes the air right out of any argument that her e-mails would have been safer if kept in house.

And if she was never hacked the fact that she had a private server (Which by the way she has had since she was a Senator from New York) kind of makes her look like a genius.

So no, Hillary Clinton is NOT going to be indicted over Benghazi. She is NOT going to be indicted for killing Vince Foster. And she is NOT going to be indicted for using a private e-mail server.