Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian oligarchs for potentially funneling money to Donald Trump’s campaign and inauguration.
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CNN reported, “Investigators are asking whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled cash donations directly or indirectly into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and inauguration. Investigators’ interest in Russian oligarchs has not been previously reported. It reveals that Mueller’s team has intensified its focus into the potential flow of money from Russia into the US election as part of its wide-ranging investigation into whether the Trump team colluded with Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. The approach to Russian oligarchs in recent weeks may reflect that Mueller’s team has already obtained records or documents that it has legal jurisdiction over and can get easily, one source said, and now it’s a “wish list” to see what other information they can obtain from Russians entering the US or through their voluntary cooperation.”
What Mueller is looking at is similar to the FBI’s investigation of the NRA for potentially laundering illegal Russian money to the Trump campaign. Special Counsel Mueller is following the money from Russia to Trump’s campaign. The president may not be a criminal target of the investigation, which means that he wouldn’t be charged with a crime, but he is a subject of the investigation.
Robert Mueller’s team must already have evidence of a money connection between the Trump campaign and the Russian oligarchs. Investigators wouldn’t be stopping Russians at the airport on a hunch. The Special Counsel has something and he is looking for more evidence. It would be the height of stupidity if Trump took Russian money for his inauguration, but it would also take the level of criminality to a new level.
A campaign taking Russian money leaves an opening for plausible deniability. A president’s inauguration taking money from Russia is a whole different ball of wax.
With each passing day, it begins to feel like impeachment is a when, not an if, with Trump. Mueller is zeroing in on the connection that Trump can’t hide. The cash that has made him a Putin puppet.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
