If you’ve ever watched a crime show, you know that when a prosecutor is looking to convict a powerful person, they work their way from the bottom up. In real life, it seems evidently true that this pattern exists.
As Robert Muller, former FBI director, continues his independent investigation on Russian collusion and its ties to the Trump administration, each arrest or guilty plea has led closer and closer to Trump himself. First, former campaign manager Paul Manafort and aide Rick Gates were placed under house arrest after Muller released a 12 count indictment tying them to Russian faction in Ukraine. Now, Michael Flynn, a former adviser to the Trump campaign and Trump’s former National Security Adviser, has plead guilty to lying to the FBI.
Muller has now reached Trump’s inner circle. Flynn has been under the hot seat for a while now and has sought immunity before. Today, he’s finally caved in and admitted guilt. What the public now knows is that a member of the Trump transition team instructed Flynn to meet with the Russian ambassador.
It is now becoming abundantly clear that Muller’s investigation is heating up; here’s what it all means:
- Flynn reached a plea deal with Muller’s team.
- Trump is in trouble. Flynn is ready to testify for Muller against anyone, Trump included.
- The person who instructed Flynn to meet with the Russian ambassador was Jared Kushner, who could be the next person on Muller’s list.
- This could be the beginning of the end for a lot of people in the Trump administration, including Trump himself depending on how deep this goes.
Right now, what happened today will not impeach Trump alone. This investigation has yet to tie Trump himself to anything (according to public knowledge of the investigation). However, what happened today is big. Did Flynn flip sides to cut a deal and limit or avoid jail time? Does Flynn know something that ties the collusion to Trump? For now all we can do is wait and see.
What is abundantly clear from today though, is that there is now no chance of denying a connection between the Trump administration and Russia. And that in itself is a massive concern and a threat to our democracy.
Regardless of what happens with this investigation in the future, today, December 1st, 2017, will go down in history. A National Security Advisor to the President of the United States was caught lying and has put D.C. politics on edge. It will be interesting to see how far this goes, but as we near the holiday season, this country might soon need to be prepared for a scandal that makes Watergate seem like nothing. Only time will tell.
Read Flynn’s full statement here.
Photo: Carlos Barria / Reuters
