With the midterm elections behind us, media attention has turned again to the Mueller Russiagate probe and Der Trumpenführer's obsession with killing the probe - something that should count as obstruction of justice in and of itself. The near hysteria of Trump continues to run counter to the behavior of someone who is innocent. Laughably, Rudi Giuliani - who has discredited himself in the eyes of anyone sane - whined that Mueller's questions to Trump were "perjury traps" ignoring the fact that if one doesn't lie (a difficult task for Trump) there is no risk of perjury. A piece in Vanity Fair looks at the growing fear and paranoia among Trump and his sycophants who I suspect known damn well that they conspired with Russian agents and are thoroughly guilty. Innocent people simply do not act they way these folks are behaving. Here are article highlights:
After stepping out of the headlines and into the courtroom as part of a pre-midterms cease-fire, Robert Mueller appears poised to make his dramatic return to national politics with a new set of indictments centered around WikiLeaks and Roger Stone. According to multiple reports, the special counsel has been zeroing in on whether Stone or other Donald Trump associates had advance knowledge of Russia’s hacking of Clinton e-mails, which WikiLeaks later published.
If Mueller were to make his next move against Stone, he might also be expected to take action against Assange. So it is perhaps unsurprising that Assange’s name also surfaced this week, thanks to a slipup by the Department of Justice.
Exactly what charges Assange is facing remains unclear. In the past, prosecutors have considered conspiracy, violating the Espionage Act, and theft of government property. During the Obama administration, the Justice Department held back on going after Assange amid concerns that doing so was similar to prosecuting a news outlet. (Charging someone for publishing accurate information, Assange’s lawyer Barry Pollack told The Guardian on Thursday, is “a dangerous path for a democracy to take.”) The recently ousted Jeff Sessions, however, took a more Draconian stance on government leaks, and prosecutors were reportedly told over the summer that they could start compiling a complaint. So far, the D.O.J. has not offered further details.
Whether Assange will be charged as part of the Russia probe is also unknown, though it seems likely. Presumably, the mention of Assange’s name in legal documents has spooked Trumpworld, which is already on edge in anticipation of the next Mueller bombshell. According to Politico, the White House suspects more indictments are imminent, potentially targeting a cabal of Trump family members and associates for their connections to WikiLeaks.
On Wednesday, the special counsel delivered a one-page motion to a Washington judge stating that former Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the U.S. and making a false statement in a federal investigation, “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations.” Then, on Thursday, Mueller’s office and Paul Manafort’s lawyers jointly requested a 10-day extension to file a report pertaining to the former campaign chairman’s sentencing.
Trump allies are feeling the pressure. Conspiracy theorist and commentator Jerome Corsi, a Stone ally, has said he expects to be indicted for perjury, and told The Guardian that Mueller’s team grilled him on Assange and Brexiteer Nigel Farage, the latter of whom has links to both WikiLeaks and Trump. Donald Trump Jr., too, is said to be bracing for a legal showdown . . . .
As paranoia, media scrutiny, and the hashtag #indictmentpalooza pick up, [Trump]the president, who has been working with lawyers on written answers to a series of Mueller’s questions, also appears to be on tenterhooks.
Nothing is more wonderful than seeing these despicable individuals sweating over getting indicted for things they knowingly did while viewing themselves above the law. I hope the indictments come very soon.
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