Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is investigating the finances and business dealings of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, as part of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
FBI agents and federal prosecutors have also been examining the financial dealings of other Trump associates, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Carter Page, who was listed as a foreign-policy adviser for the campaign.
The Washington Post previously reported that investigators were scrutinizing meetings that Kushner held with Russians in December — first with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and then with Sergey Gorkov, the head of a state-owned Russian development bank. At the time of that report, it was not clear that the FBI was investigating Kushner’s business dealings.
Oh yeah, that noose is getting much tighter now.
So tight in fact that Mike Pence has decided that he needs legal assistance before it starts cutting off his air supply.
Also courtesy of WaPo:
Vice President Pence has hired outside legal counsel to help with both congressional committee inquiries and the special counsel investigation into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The vice president’s office said Thursday that Pence has retained Richard Cullen, a Richmond-based lawyer and chairman of McGuireWoods who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Here is Rachel Maddow explaining why this is such a big deal:
Maddow said Thursday that Pence hiring lawyer Richard Cullen as his personal attorney is evidence that he is running scared.
“It’s very interesting that the vice president has felt the need to hire private counsel, right?” she said. “The specific private counsel he’s chosen? Who knows if we should extrapolate from those previous experiences in previous Republican presidential scandals. … But, you know, it would appear that Vice President Mike Pence does have stuff to worry about here. … It’s not surprising that the vice president has now found himself a private lawyer, but oh what a private lawyer he has got.”
Cullen also had involvement in other Republican scandals like former President Nixon’s Watergate and President Reagan’s Iran-Contra.
That is a pretty big hitter to hire if Pence really believes has nothing to worry about.
And just to drive that point home it appears that the Senate is seeking to once again have James Comey provide testimony under oath.
Courtesy of Politico:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants former FBI Director James Comey to return to Capitol Hill to testify before her panel — and says Democrats are willing to back a subpoena for Comey if he refuses.
I have a feeling that now that we know Trump is being investigated for obstruction that these questions to Comey will be a bit more targeted.
I think I know now what inspired Trump's Twitter tantrum this morning.
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