DOJ releases long-awaited Mueller scope memo, revealing the probe went beyond previously known mandate
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Previously, it had been revealed that Rosenstein authorized Mueller to probe "i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump;
ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; [and] iii) any other matters within the scope of [obstruction of justice laws]."
But, Rosenstein's August 2017 scope memo had remained largely redacted. The newly released version of the document makes clear that Rosenstein didn't hesitate to explicitly authorize a deep-dive criminal probe into the Trump team that extended well beyond Russian interference.
In the case of George Papadopoulos, a low-level former Trump foreign policy aide, Mueller was authorized to probe whether there had been a "crime or crimes" committed when he allegedly acted "as an unregistered agent of the government of Israel," the scope memo stated.
That referred to a possible offense under the Foreign Agents Registration Act [FARA] -- a little-known statute which, from 1966 to 2015, had been utilized only seven times.
But, FARA prosecutions have picked up dramatically in recent years, and prosecutor Brandon L. Van Grack was appointed to head up the new FARA unit at the DOJ in 2019.
Since then, Van Grack has been under scrutiny for claiming to a federal court that he had turned over all relevant exculpatory informing involving former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn --
even though a slew of exculpatory documents have since surfaced, including a top official's handwritten memo debating whether the FBI's "goal" was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."
Van Grack also failed to provide evidence to Flynn’s attorneys that anti-Trump former FBI agent @petestrzok intervened to instruct the FBI case manager handling the Flynn investigation to keep the probe open,
even after the Washington field office of the FBI wanted to close the case for lack of evidence. Another Strzok text mentioned that the FBI’s "7th floor" – meaning FBI leadership – may have been involved in the decision to keep the Flynn case alive.
The newly released version of the 2017 scope memo further makes clear that Mueller could look into whether Flynn "committed a crime or crimes by engaging in conversations with Russian government officials during the period of the Trump transition."
That was an apparent reference to the Logan Act, which has never been used in a modern criminal prosecution and had a questionable constitutional status. Republicans and constitutional law experts have questioned the Logan Act's role in a modern prosecution;
law professor Jonathan Turley said it was "chilling" that the FBI apparently was trying to premise a case on the Logan Act.
The Rosenstein scope memo further authorizes a FARA review into Flynn's dealings with Turkey. Prosecutors have suggested Flynn's guilty plea on one count of false statements to the FBI is what allowed him to escape liability for a possible FARA charge.
Additionally, the scope memo stated that Mueller was charged specifically with investigating whether several former Trump officials --
including Carter Page, Papadopoulos and Paul Manafort -- had "committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials with respect to the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 election for President of the United States."
