Thread by @Teri_Kanefield

(thread) Interesting prediction on where Mueller is going based on how he charged the 13 Russians who interferred in our election. lawfareblog.com/about-russia-i…
Here's a quick summary. . .

2/ facts: 13 Russians stole American identities & posed as real Americans to create discord & spread distrust in our political system.

Instead of charging fraud and identity theft (what legal scholars would have expected) Mueller charged "Conspiracy against the United States "

3/which just means conspiring to obstruct government functions (like elections, the DOJ, etc.)

Why did Mueller do this?

Because it's much easier to prove than fraud! Conspiracy allows Mueller to cast a wide net, and it's a relatively easy crime to prove. Mueller only needs

4/ . . . to show that 2 people agreed to commit a crime, and that they took a positive step toward that crime. The crime doesn't have to be committed.

So, i.e., if a person encouraged the publication of stolen emails, Mueller can indict them as part of the conspiracy . . .

5/ which is easier than proving somethings like aiding and abetting a cyber crime.

As Mueller is charging this crime, even hiding money from the IRS violates the statute because the tax cheater is defrauding a US agency.

I think we'll see a lot more people charged with this.

5/ Here's the law: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18… …
Short, sweet, and simple.

My criminal law prof. (a former fed prosecutor) said these kinds of laws are on the books to make things easier for the prosecutor.

And it sounds really bad. "Conspiracy against the U.S." will rattle.
/end