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Robert Mueller Prepares to Release Key Findings in the Russia Probe

Robert Mueller Prepares to Release Key Findings in the Russia Probe

Last updated on: October 17, 2018 at 4:52 pm by Susan Wright

Robert Mueller Prepares to Release Key Findings in the Russia Probe 2018-10-17T16:52:41-04:00 Susan Wright

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For those of you who were wondering if special counsel Robert Mueller would be pulling a “Comey” and releasing his findings from the Russia probe before the midterm elections, wonder no more.

Bloomberg News reported early Wednesday that Mueller has been under pressure to either bring more indictments or wrap it up.

According to sources, that pressure is coming from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – the man who appointed Mueller.

Several U.S. officials are saying that Mueller will be complying, but not before the midterm elections in November.

Specifically, Mueller is close to rendering judgment on two of the most explosive aspects of his inquiry: whether there were clear incidents of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, and whether the president took any actions that constitute obstruction of justice, according to one of the officials, who asked not to be identified speaking about the investigation.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Mueller’s findings would be made public if he doesn’t secure unsealed indictments. The regulations governing Mueller’s probe stipulate that he can present his findings only to his boss, who is currently Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The regulations give a special counsel’s supervisor some discretion in deciding what is relayed to Congress and what is publicly released.

So what happens if President Trump decides to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions with somebody more concerned with being Trump’s buffer and hit man than with someone dedicated to upholding the laws of the nation?

The president has treated Sessions with a disgusting lack of respect. He’s also instructed his slobbering dogs with Fox News (Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro) to rip into Sessions from their platform, with some regularity.

It’s hard to feel sorry for Sessions. He was the first senator to jump aboard the Trump train and give the dull witted, unrepentant con artist and adulterer an air of legitimacy. The position as Attorney General was payment for his loyalty. Unfortunately, loyalty to men of low character, such as that of Trump, only extends for as long as you are useful to achieving their ends.

The moment Sessions attempted to interject ethics into the office of the DOJ, he became useless to Trump.

As for Rosenstein, some have speculated that he could be next on the chopping block after the midterms, as well. Several weeks ago, the rumor circulated that he was about to be fired, but it didn’t happen.

Instead, he was invited on a flight with the president, and Trump’s words afterwards were that he and Rosenstein had a “great relationship.”

Democrats had hoped Rosenstein would drop his report ahead of the midterms, expecting it would give them some sort of pre-election ammunition.

Republicans, particularly those loyal to Donald Trump, have feared it, so this news may come as some small comfort.

Either way, there’s no guarantee that what Mueller will be reporting will hold the kind of significance either side may be expecting.

To date, he’s secured several dozen indictments or guilty pleas, so it’s not as if the year-and-a-half long probe has been unfruitful.

From that, we can see certain moves are being made to do clean up.

A sentencing date has been set for President Trump’s original national security adviser, Michael Flynn (December 18).

Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, struck his own cooperation agreement with Mueller last month, after being convicted at trial in Virginia on eight counts of bank fraud, filing false tax returns and failure to file a foreign bank account. The plea agreement let him avoid a second trial in Washington. The judge in the Virginia trial, who wasn’t part of the plea agreement, has scheduled a sentencing hearing Friday, which could complicate Manafort’s cooperation agreement with Mueller.

And then there’s Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer,” Michael Cohen. Cohen has been billed as the guy who knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak. He has met with Mueller and expressed a willingness to cooperate fully.

He also pleaded guilty to bank fraud, tax fraud, and campaign finance law violations in an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. The fun fact there is that what he reveals in that investigation could be more damaging to Trump and the Trump Organization than anything that comes out of Mueller’s Russia probe.

Recently, the president’s legal team received written questions from Mueller’s team, and that’s just one more important piece to the ongoing investigation.

So, no “October surprise” and nothing will be forthcoming to harm or help either side. Whatever happens with the midterms, nobody will be able to blame Robert Mueller or his work.

One thing is for certain. Whatever happens afterwards, it is assured somebody is going to be unhappy with the results.

We want to know what you think about the upcoming midterm elections. Vote in our poll below!

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