Robert Mueller’s latest move reveals he’s still busting heads
Many in the mainstream media have been reporting that based on excellent sources, and those close to the investigation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was going to be submitting his final report to the new Attorney General, William Barr, thus ending the Russia investigation. As Palmer Report has repeatedly cautioned, ala Groundhog Day the Movie, don’t listen to this.
The news overnight that Mueller had submitted his Paul Manafort sentencing memo under seal was confirmed today by Judge Amy Berman Jackson. As in the poem by Robert Frost, Mueller has many miles to go before he puts the Trump investigation to sleep. Recall that earlier this year, the District of Columbia court granted Mueller and his team an extension of up to six months for the grand jury.
As Palmer Report has reported, the potential reasons for having this filing under seal are pretty limited, and what is likely to be posted on the court’s public docket is a heavily redacted document that will not shed much light on what Manafort has said. The memo will likely spell out Manafort’s aborted cooperation, which likely includes what he and Konstantin Kilimnik did with witnesses. The memo and exhibits might also spell out what contacts Manafort had with “President” Donald Trump and his administration and his counsel, and what they might have shared.
This latest Manafort news, when added to the new revelations from Michael “the Fixer” Cohen about irregularities at the Trump Organization and his planned testimony next week, suggests that this investigation is “just getting warmed up” and will not be finalized such that a final report can be issued this week, or this month, or in the near future.
To the extent that anyone thinks Attorney General Barr will close down the investigation, that is dangerous territory for him. If he took that step, the media and the House and many other entities would begin investigating what happened and why. So, sit tight, but don’t expect to know all that Mueller knows. We might never know everything that’s going on behind the scenes, but to the extent justice is done, we will be satisfied.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.