After working for six months, Robert Mueller III, a special counsel has managed to indict two high ranking advice-givers to President Trump. He has also managed to get guilty pleas from two other officials who have agreed to cooperate with him in unveiling whether Russia meddled with the 2016 election in the US or not. This has been viewed as an escalating legal threat for the White House. The recent guilty plea by Michael Flynn, an ex-national security adviser as well as one of the most valued and closest aides to Trump shows the investigation is far from over. Michael Flynn’s plea of guilty shows that the investigation is going after key figures who had inside information on the presidential campaign, the power transition as well as the White House. The investigation will now go beyond the Russian link as there are other issues that have cropped up.
Effect of Flynn and Papadopoulos’ Cooperation
After George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn, who served as advisers in Trump’s campaign admitted that they lied to the FBI on their contact with the Russians, Mueller’s work became easier. The duo will cooperate with him and potentially provide the much needed evidence against the other aides to Trump. According to Richard Ben-Veniste, a Watergate special prosecution team lead member, Mueller has acted swiftly with deliberation and professionalism to build a strong case. The recent plea of guilty by Flynn is another brick to the wall of substance that Mueller is building. Mueller’s swift action has left President Trump’s team looking for answers as it is not clear how far the investigations may reach ultimately. Flynn’s cooperation holds a risk for the White House as it is not yet known who he will implicate or what he will tell Mueller.
Fears at the White House
When news about the deal involving Flynn broke out, it startled top White House officials leaving a good number of them feeling helpless. The news broke after a routine senior staff meeting. The news startled many senior officials due to the position that Michael Flynn held in Trump’s inner circle. Flynn poses a huge threat to the White House as he was a vital member in Trump’s inner circle and was once considered as a potential candidate for nomination as the vice-president. There are signs that President Trump feared the potential investigation of Flynn by Mueller. James Comey, an ex-FBI director, had testified in June that Trump had urged him to back off from investigations on Michael Flynn back in February. [Read More]
