Mueller Investigation Focus Shifts to Intelligence

For the past month now, Robert S. Mueller has been the special counsel heading an investigation into whether or not Trump campaign advisors worked with Russian officials to swing the election in his favor. Yesterday he took the next step requesting to interview current and former intelligence officials.

The three men summoned are Daniel Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Michael Rogers, the head of the NSA, and Richard Ledgett, the NSA Deputy Director. In addition to asking to interview these men, he also asked the NSA for all their notes and documents related to their interactions with the White House and the Russian Investigation which was being led by former FBI Director James Comey.

None of the men listed above were members of Trump’s campaign team, but since he took office it is believed that he asked for their hope in firing James Comey. Two of these interviews may be a waste of time though as Coats and Rogers were both questioned by Congress last week and did not answer any questions concerning the firing of James Comey.

If Mueller’s interview differs from the one in Congress though, there may be lots of light shed on whether Trump did obstruct justice. He could go straight to the source though, as Trump has made it clear that he is willing to be interviewed.

The relationship between the Special Counsel and the President has been very strained in recent days. Mueller made it quite clear that he will scrutinize all of the president’s actions. On the other side of the argument, Trump considered firing Mueller but his aides talked him out of it. They made a compelling argument that by firing Mueller, the investigation into whether or not he obstructed justice would be made even more complicated.

Many believe that Mueller is currently building a case against Trump, but he is simply following a trend set by many others to gather as much information as possible, which he has made abundantly clear. He already has copies of what Comey wrote on Trump interactions.

One of the reports included Comey quoted as saying Trump asking him to stop the investigation into Flynn, which he never did, was “very disturbing.” That investigation was centered around former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and if he failed to disclose his ties to Russia and because he failed to disclose the fact that he worked as an agent for Turkey at the same time he was an advisor to the Trump campaign.

This last detail greatly upset Trump though, as his outside lawyer Mark E. Kasowitz was quoted as saying that the FBI leaking information is “outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”

This is not the first time Trump has spoken out about this investigation. The firing of Comey, which set off this entire chain of events, was simply done because of the mystery that Trump ran into when asking about the investigation. Many have suggested that he place privilege on the three men that will be interviewed, but this may not hold up. These matters almost always go to court, and once there the court usually sides with the investigators.

Ultimately Mueller will be looking into money laundering by the Trump advisors and offshore accounts. If they were working with the Russians they would have done so for money, and the most effective way to discover it is by tracking their bank accounts.