Mueller has been telling us the story incrementally through his prosecutions.
1) Russia hacked (Russian indictments)
2) Trump Campaign members worked with them (Manafort, Flynn indictments)
3) The motive was a huge sum of money (Cohen sentencing memo)
1/
1) Russia hacked (Russian indictments)
2) Trump Campaign members worked with them (Manafort, Flynn indictments)
3) The motive was a huge sum of money (Cohen sentencing memo)
1/
4) The WH tried to cover it up (Cohen, Manafort memos)
5) Trump isn’t a bystander in the crimes around him; he’s the quarterback (Cohen memo)
The logical next chapter is the summation:
6) Trump personally directed a conspiracy to accept a payoff and election-meddling help
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5) Trump isn’t a bystander in the crimes around him; he’s the quarterback (Cohen memo)
The logical next chapter is the summation:
6) Trump personally directed a conspiracy to accept a payoff and election-meddling help
2/
Since it isn’t easy to indict Trump as a next step, I’d expect a sweeping set of indictments to follow which all share a common formula:
Criminal activity with Trump’s direct involvement to further the conspiracy.
Roger Stone. Junior. Kushner.
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Criminal activity with Trump’s direct involvement to further the conspiracy.
Roger Stone. Junior. Kushner.
3/
Each will reiterate the overall conspiracy AND reinforce that Trump was the hub in this wheel.
Many spokes. Trump in the center.
Then we’ll likely see cooperation or pleas from more minor players who aided the cover-up. People like Hope Hicks.
4/
Many spokes. Trump in the center.
Then we’ll likely see cooperation or pleas from more minor players who aided the cover-up. People like Hope Hicks.
4/
By the time Mueller is done, he will have effectively painted a picture of a massive conspiracy involving a laundry list of crimes with Donald J. Trump at the very center of them all.
That’s bigger than where I thought we’d land.
5/
That’s bigger than where I thought we’d land.
5/
I thought this would play out like a mob family takedown.
Prosecutors would ring up all the more minor players; connect them to the capos; and then prove the boss is the boss - without connecting them directly to the individual criminal acts downstream.
6/
Prosecutors would ring up all the more minor players; connect them to the capos; and then prove the boss is the boss - without connecting them directly to the individual criminal acts downstream.
6/
Mueller is dropping a heavier anvil on Trump though.
He is incrementally proving that the Trump Crime Family is a flat organization.
There are big fish and little fish but they all report to the boss.
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He is incrementally proving that the Trump Crime Family is a flat organization.
There are big fish and little fish but they all report to the boss.
7/
I thought this would play out more like a RICO-style prosecution where you prove the whole family is dirty and nail the boss for being in charge.
This is heading in a much more personally damning direction for Trump.
8/
This is heading in a much more personally damning direction for Trump.
8/
The final takeaway Mueller is building towards:
The people around Trump engaged in some criminality but he, in the center of it all, engaged in all of it.
Trump is surrounded by criminals but he alone is the very biggest criminal of them all.
9/
The people around Trump engaged in some criminality but he, in the center of it all, engaged in all of it.
Trump is surrounded by criminals but he alone is the very biggest criminal of them all.
9/
The case Mueller is building will be a far more damning prosecution of Trump than Watergate was of Nixon.
Nixon was shown to be a crook among crooks.
Trump is being revealed as a black hole of complete criminality surrounded by dim stars.
I love where this is going.
10/10
Nixon was shown to be a crook among crooks.
Trump is being revealed as a black hole of complete criminality surrounded by dim stars.
I love where this is going.
10/10
