On Monday morning, Special Counsel Robert Mueller officially issued the first charges in his ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential election. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his longtime business partner Rick Gates were charged with 12 felonies ranging from lying to federal agents, tax fraud and money laundering.
But Mueller's probe isn't simply about Republicans.
During an interview with CNN Monday night, former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Mueller is just getting started and that Democrats should also be nervous.
Leon Panetta: Probably a good bet that additional indictments are forthcoming, could involve members of both parties https://t.co/C0tQqpTjOk
— CNN International (@cnni) October 30, 2017
Yesterday Tony Podesta, brother of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, resigned from his prestigious Washington D.C. lobbying firm. The move came after NBC News revealed Podesta is under investigation by Mueller for failing to register as a foreign agent, the same crime Manafort stands accused of and one of many he was indicted for.
Tony Podesta and the Podesta Group are now the subjects of a federal investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, three sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
The probe of Podesta and his Democratic-leaning lobbying firm grew out of Mueller's inquiry into the finances of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to the sources. As special counsel, Mueller has been tasked with investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Manafort had organized a public relations campaign for a non-profit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU). Podesta's company was one of many firms that worked on the campaign, which promoted Ukraine's image in the West.
The sources said the investigation into Podesta and his company began as more of a fact-finding mission about the ECMU and Manafort's role in the campaign, but has now morphed into a criminal inquiry into whether the firm violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA.
Buckle up.
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