The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website September 1, 2017:
While much of the country (and the White House) was transfixed with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, there is compelling evidence that Robert Mueller’s Russia probe is gaining steam. Here are the key developments:
- The Mueller investigators are teaming up with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to put pressure on former Trump
campaign chairman Paul Manafort. If Manafort can be prosecuted for state crimes in New York, President Trump will not be able to quietly offer him a pardon in exchange for his silence. - Mueller is focusing apparently on the July meeting at Trump Tower between Russian representatives and Donald Trump Jr. The meeting, which included Trump Jr., Manafort, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, was ostensibly about Russian government operatives providing damaging details on Hillary Clinton.
- In the latest development, The Daily Beast is reporting that Mueller is beginning to work with IRS investigators from the IRS Criminal Investigations (CI) unit to support the Russia probe. “The FBI’s expertise is spread out over so many statutes—and particularly since 9/11, where they really focused on counterintelligence and counterterror—that they simply don’t have the financial investigative expertise that the CI agents have,” according to Martin Sheil, a retired IRS investigator. “When CI brings a case to a U.S. Attorney, it is done. It’s wrapped up with a ribbon and a bow. It’s just comprehensive.”
Sources close to the administration indicate that Trump has been focused in the last week on Harvey and delivering aid to the millions of citizens from Texas and Louisiana who will need support for many years. The aftermath of Harvey and the looming fiscal fights in Congress, however, will matter little to the investigation that is slowly but surely uncovering the details of Trump’s connections to Russia.