The Tip of a Prosecutorial Iceberg?

‘The ultimate target of Mueller’s investigation is President Trump. Standard operating procedure is that when prosecutors have a high-level target to charge that those below the target are charged with something just to get them to cooperate. Though the charges against Manafort and Gates need not be related to the Russians or to Trump, they must be real. It’s clear they are, as each is facing more than 20 years in prison. Mueller believes that that prospect is enough to dispatch their lawyers to make deals with him. The danger of such a deal is that Manafort and Gates may offer to tell Mueller what they think he wants to hear — even if it is not truthful — so that they can have their prison exposure lessened.’

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