As Blasting News reported, special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation on the Trump administration is reportedly expanding to possibly include Attorney Generals for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Jeff Sessions and Deputy Rod Rosenstein in a separate criminal probe. The suggestion in the article is that Rosenstein might be more cooperative and provide Mueller with the authority he needs to do what he needs to do. The criminal probe also includes former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Already under criminal investigation
Blasting News recalled in one article how Paul Manafort attracted attention last year when the language over a provision in the Republican National Committee's platform had softened the RNC's stance on Russia in order to support arming the Ukraine.
The article points to claims that Manafort lied when he denied that he had anything to do with those changes. Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Manafort was already under a Criminal Investigation by the Justice Department as well as a counterintelligence probe while the department was under Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Manafort was forced to resign as Trump's campaign manager in August over business dealings with Kremlin oligarchs in the Ukraine when he was an advisor for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The DOJ's investigation on Manafort started in 2014 when the Maidan Square uprising took place and toppled Yanukovych as president. The Associated Press had obtained business records which showed that Manafort had been advising clients in Yanukovych's party in 2004.
Robert Mueller unlimited power to investigation Manafort
It's been suggested that Mueller's investigation is broad and though the terms of his appointment are to avoid open-ended investigations, he will have free reign on Manafort. Specifically, it's been reported that Paul Manafort's work was to direct a lobbying campaign covertly on behalf of the pro-Russian party in Washington.
It is in this case that it would make sense as to why Manafort made an effort to soften the language on arming the Ukraine against Russia.
The Associated Press reported on this last year and afterward, two lobbying firms that were involved apparently registered as foreign agents.The AP said that Manafort had not registered himself despite reports over the past few months that he would.
The question remains why doesn't he since it's been determined that much of his work was on behalf of the Russian government as well as other
The question remains why doesn't he since it's been determined that much of his work was on behalf of the Russian government as well as other controversial leaders throughout the world. Because the investigation involves collusion with Russian officials, Paul Manafort could save himself a lot of trouble by registering as a foreign agent.
