Special Counsel Investigation

A Special Counsel investigation is being led by former FBI Director, Robert Mueller, in order to examine possible Russian interference in the 2016 United States election, and coordination between the Russian government and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn were aides and advisors of the Donald Trump election campaign who plead guilty to the FBI for making false statements about their connection to Russian entities.
Mueller released two indictments charging 13 Russian citizens and 3 Russian entities.

As of yet, five people have plead guilty to the Special Counsel Investigation: Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, Richard Pinedo, and Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan.

Trump is open to an interview with Robert Muller. Trump’s lawyers have advised against the interview. However, they say that they would encourage it only if the questions were both limited (how) and do not test the president’s recollection, which could be used for a perjury trap.

While Trump himself continues to be a subject of the continuing investigation, he is not a “criminal target” according to Muller.

Most recently, Mueller has stated that he is writing a report about the President’s potential obstruction of justice. If the charge is proven to be true, then there are grounds for impeachment. However, it is highly unlikely that the president can be impeached for this charge alone, as it is very broad.

There have been attempts to discredit the investigation altogether. Critics have stated that the investigation is a  “witch hunt” against the president and that Mueller’s Special Investigation is being used as an excuse to find anything that could possibly damage the administration, as opposed to investigating in the name of justice.