A key Democrat said on Thursday that recent developments surrounding Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation suggest that “more folks will be headed to prison” in the near future.
According to Rep. Joaquin Castro of the House Intelligence Committee, the fact that so many witnesses are cooperating with Mueller doesn’t bode well for Donald Trump and his efforts to paint the investigation as phony.
It also means Mueller’s 22 indictments are just the beginning and more people will likely face jail time.
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Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro explains why today’s Paul Manafort news should worry Trump #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/Slkec8uFuS
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 17, 2018
Rep. Castro said:
Well, personally, it makes me wonder if it’s just coming out now, what he’s been doing for them since January. How much he’s been cooperating and in what ways. You know, when all of this started, when the investigation started over a year ago now, obviously year and a half, shortly after that I was asked what I thought the eventual outcome of this would be, and I said in March of last year, that I thought that many people would end up going to jail. And we see that there have been 22 indictments, people are on their way to jail now. My sense is that this will continue, that more folks will be headed to prison.
Castro’s prediction comes after it was reported on Thursday that the former son-in-law of ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has “cut a plea deal with the Justice Department that requires him to cooperate with other criminal probes.”
The Wall Street Journal adds that the ex-son-in-law “has met with investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller.”
This is not a “witch hunt”
Donald Trump kicked off his day by once again whining about the special counsel investigation, tweeting that it’s “the greatest Witch Hunt in American History,” like usual, capitalizing words at random.
Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History…and there is still No Collusion and No Obstruction. The only Collusion was that done by Democrats who were unable to win an Election despite the spending of far more money!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 17, 2018
Despite these incoherent ramblings, this investigation is legitimate and has already led to led to a flurry of indictments and charges. The special counsel team is turning over every stone possible.
The fact that Mueller continues to pull in cooperating witnesses should further worry the president and, as Rep. Castro said on Thursday, it probably means more charges and jail time are on the horizon.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
