[ad_1]
But with the new year, it may be possible to answer some of these questions.
There are already scheduled hearings and deadlines in the criminal cases of former Trump campaign president, Paul Manafort, and a growing expectation of the end of Mueller's work and use from a federal grand jury.
When he finishes his work, Mueller must provide a confidential report to the Attorney General. But before that happens, he could ask for new charges. Up to now, Mueller's team has obtained guilty pleas from seven people, including the two main campaign leaders of President Donald Trump, his former personal attorney and his first counsel to the national security. Twenty-six others, all Russian, have been indicted by Mueller.
In theory, the special advocate will respond to a cascade of issues raised during the investigation, especially when he thought that Trump had done obstruction of justice and would make public the findings of allegations of coordination between the Trump campaign. and the Russian government. Mueller will probably determine if Trump was aware of the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians in June 2016, if the campaign contacts were stolen from Stolen Democratic Party emails, if foreign money illegally entered the elections and what prompted the Republican party to change its platform on Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
Will the public have access to Mueller's conclusions?
Will Mueller's findings be made public and what is the nature of another issue – an issue that could lead to a separate struggle. If Mueller and the Department of Justice do not make the report public – and if the White House wants to keep it largely secret, Congress could issue a subpoena to try to force its publication.
Some details may be withheld due to assertions of the privilege of the executive, grand jury secrecy and other privacy considerations. Congress and public interest groups could go to court to find out what should be published.
Will Trump be able to set Mueller on fire?
From the beginning, the threat that Trump or the Attorney General could fire Mueller was suspended over the probe. But Trump has not done it yet.
Barr's approach to Mueller has not yet been seen. Previously, he was not completely in favor of the investigation. He wrote a memo to justice ministry officials in June, claiming that an investigation into an obstruction of justice over Trump's decision to dismiss FBI director James Comey was "a misconception." for ever".
Mueller will he question Trump?
It is not clear if Mueller has any other questions for Trump. For months, the President's team has indicated that she would fight if asked to testify under subpoena or attend an interview with Mueller, two situations in which the lie can be prosecuted as a federal crime.
Instead, the president's defense team ended a legal fight by responding in writing to a series of questions from Mueller just before Thanksgiving. They dealt largely with allegations of Russian collusion and the period leading up to the inauguration.
Trump was Mueller's leading critic in the second half of 2018, calling the witch-hunt investigation politically, repeatedly and at a breakneck pace.
"The making of Russian collusion is the biggest hoax in the history of American politics," tweeted Trump on December 29.
How long will Mueller's grand jury continue to meet?
The Grand Jury s' is gathered every Friday, receiving partitions. witnesses who testified and hours of prosecutors' conclusions on the intricacies of Russian attempts to infiltrate American politics.
This secret body of up to 23 citizens is a powerful tool that Mueller can use to compel the collection of evidence and to call witnesses. It is also the panel of peers who ultimately vote to approve the indictments.
Apparently, he's still doing his job.
The grand jury met for the last time on December 21, according to CNN reports.
Mueller also has the opportunity to present evidence to other established grand juries, such as the one he used in Virginia to open a second case against Manafort.
What about House Democrats?
Beyond Mueller, a new category of investigators was invested this week: House Democrats.
Democrats now control key House committees that can investigate Trump's campaign links with Russia, his personal finances, the obstruction of justice, and just about everything else. These committees have a power of summons and may require key witnesses to deliver sensitive documents. They may also demand that Trump's closest allies appear at the public hearing to deal with thorny issues in front of the cameras.
Will Roger Stone's associate be required to testify?
What mysterious business owned by a foreign state is trying to hold a subpoena?
What are the "many ongoing investigations" with which Gates still helps the Mueller team?
Lastly, Gates testified for three days at the trial against Manafort and "continues to cooperate on several ongoing investigations," his attorney and Mueller's attorneys said in November. It should be noted that the situation report of prosecutors on Gates did not allude to an upcoming conviction, given the success of the conviction of Manafort by prosecutors. What else could the biggest Trump campaign and the first leader be able to help Mueller and the Department of Justice?
The next status report of the prosecutors and the Gates legal team is to be submitted to court on January 15.
Will powerful Russians have access to the secrets of national security investigations?
Concord is the only company or person out of 15 in Russia to have fought propaganda accusations. She pleaded not guilty and the oligarch to which belongs the company called these charges joking.
Previously, the company had been unsuccessful in its claims of invalidation of the indictment and Mueller 's authority. Now, his request to consult and share "sensitive" evidence of the case between the Russians joins what prosecutors see as the heart of his strategy. Prosecutors say that it is particularly risky for Concord to obtain evidence in the case, because of his links with the accused and sanctioned oligarch, Yevgeniy Prigozhin. The judge has not decided yet.
How important is Konstantin Kilimnik?
A name, Konstantin Kilimnik, has been associated on many occasions with several parts of the Mueller investigation. Could Kilimnik be at the heart of Mueller's pursuit?
They also stated that Gates knew that Kilimnik was working GRU, the intelligence agency of the 39, the Russian army, would have been hacked by the Democrats in 2016, according to Mueller.
Recently, Mueller's team admitted to asking Manafort several questions about Kilimnik and their meetings. Manafort had lied about the pursuit of contact with his longtime foreign colleague. Although the Justice Ministry has not yet publicly announced it, Kilimnik met Manafort twice during the Trump campaign and helped Manafort organize a briefing of the Russian oligarch on the issue. election, according to information by other news agencies and public statements of Manafort and Kilimnik.
Another collaborator of the Mueller investigation, the lobbyist W. Samuel Patten, also had contacts with Kilimnik until in 2017, when they were getting tickets for him. inauguration of Trump for a paying oligarch customer.
Like Gates, Patten's cooperation with the special attorney's office remained secret and seems to continue.
Mueller indicted Kilimnik last year for attempting to manipulate potential witnesses in the Manafort case, and said he had worked with Manafort and Gates to "carry out the criminal actions" that Manafort has admitted. The question remains: what more did they learn about him?
Since he lives in Russia, Kilimnik has not yet appeared before an American court to plead. He has not publicly responded to the charges of obstruction. During interviews, he denied working for Russian intelligence.
How many years will Manafort be used in jail?
[1945900] ] A prison sentence is almost a certainty.
Former campaign chairman and lobbyist Trump will go to federal judge T.S. Ellis on February 8 for his first conviction for eight convictions for tax and banking fraud. And, following a broken plea agreement, a second judge must sentence Manafort about a month later for additional crimes, although this date can be postponed.
Previously, the public could find out more about Manafort's lies before prosecutors during his nine cooperation sessions with Mueller's office, which began after he pleaded guilty to avoiding a second trial . Manafort has been living in jail since June, when prosecutors accused him of attempting to tamper with witnesses. The possibility that prosecutors seek clemency for Manafort has evaporated.
Increasing convictions have sentenced Manafort to a decade or more of prison. His outlook is rather bleak.
However, Manafort has a prayer that he can still pray: a grace of the president.
What did Michael Cohen tell prosecutors?
During the criminal conviction of Michael Cohen in December, prosecutor Jeannie Rhee said: "He provided our office with credible and reliable information on fundamental issues related to Russia's subject matter. of an investigation and under the jurisdiction of the special advocate's office. "
What could be these "essential questions related to Russia"? It is not yet clear whether Cohen's assistance will stimulate other investigative threads.
The Mueller team said in a previous trial that Cohen had spoken to investigators about the communication efforts made between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in 2016 and his contacts with officials of the White House in 2017 and 2018.
They also indicated that Cohen was in contact with White House staff and Trump's lawyers while he was preparing a false statement in Congress, for which he was charged .
The instructions of the Ministry of Justice concerning the investigation of Mueller place the efforts of the Russian government to interfere in the presidential election of 2016.
Julian Assange will leave Does he ever see the Embassy of Ecuador?
Recently, US attorneys – in apparent error – mentioned in a court document that Assange had been charged in a still-secret case before a federal court. It is not yet known what he is accused of or whether the case relates to Mueller's investigation.
What are the prosecutors' intentions towards Roger Stone?
For months, there have been several signs of a grand jury investigation into Roger Stone's alleged prosecution of stolen Clinton and Democratic documents and his alleged communications with WikiLeaks.
The Mueller team also mentioned an unnamed person – presumably Stone – describing the contacts of Russian hackers with Americans at the time they were sending damaging Democratic e-mails in 2016. Stone's Is touted for his close ties with Assange during the 2016 campaign but then revised his story and said that he was only repeating publicly available information.
The most comprehensive account of Stone's actions in 2016 was recorded in court drafts and text messages that Stone partner Jerome Corsi shared with CNN in November. Corsi says that Mueller offered him to plead guilty to a false accusation, but he rejected the agreement. The drafts filed in November describe how Stone allegedly pushed his associates to be robbed of WikiLeaks' democratic documents before they became public.
Two weeks ago, the House Intelligence Committee agreed to send Mueller the transcripts of a 2017 interview in camera with Stone, to indicate his statements to Congress about investigations into Russia is at the heart of the special council's interests.
Stone has not been publicly charged with a crime. He stated that he thought he was indicted and asked his online supporters to help him in his legal defense.
What's next for Michael Flynn?
In one of the most dramatic moments of the hearing in 2018, Michael Flynn was encouraged by a federal judge to delay his conviction and to further cooperate with the government.
Mueller's office had not asked for any imprisonment for the former national security advisor after providing the Department of Justice with "substantial assistance" in the investigations. Yet Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan was clearly outraged by the fact that the former senior army and intelligence official had lied to the FBI in his early days in the Trump administration.
Will Flynn finally go to jail, like the four Mueller defendants who have already been convicted? And can he do more to help the Justice Department and Mueller's team before appearing again in front of Sullivan? His next update in court should be published mid-March.
For all of the above, the Special Council Office declined to comment.
CNN's Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
[ad_2]Source link
