Mueller Reportedly Close to Wrapping It Up

Today, Special Counsel Bob Mueller is scheduled to file a detailed memo in support of the sentencing of Michael Flynn, which will "include information about any 'bad acts' Flynn committed for which he was not charged, and details about his cooperation with the special counsel." There is, to put it mildly, a good chance this memo will not reflect well on Donald Trump.

Mueller will also file detailed memos on Friday in support of the sentencing of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. Those are also unlikely to reflect well on Trump.

Mueller is thought to be nearing the end of his investigation:

Mueller's prosecutors have told defense lawyers in recent weeks that they are "tying up loose ends" in their investigation, providing the clearest clues yet that the long-running probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election may be coming to its climax, potentially in the next few weeks, according to multiple sources close to the matter.

...The only other publicly known matter Mueller is believed to be focused on relates to former Trump adviser Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi — both of whom have been aggressively investigated to determine if they had advance communications with WikiLeaks or associates of the group about its plans for the release of stolen emails of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller's filings on Flynn, Manafort, and Cohen will be made public, though parts of them may be redacted. So we'll have something to scrutinize, even if his final report is tanked by acting AG Matthew Whitaker.

Whatever we get to see by the end of this thing, it's going to look bad for Trump. It already looks bad for Trump. What remains to be seen is whether it will be bad for Trump — whether it will result in any meaningful consequences for him, or whether it will just be another round of bad press for him to weather, from which he ultimately emerges unscathed, his enormous power remaining firmly intact and unchecked.

It's not reassuring that Trump is, virtually on the daily, tweeting execrable bombast about the investigation that is tantamount to obstruction, to no consequence.

Trump, however, doesn't have only Mueller to worry about anymore. House Democrats are preparing investigations of their own, and he's still facing challenges over his business: "The attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland said Monday that they are moving forward with subpoenas for records in their case accusing [Donald] Trump of profiting off the presidency. U.S. District Court Judge Peter J. Messitte approved the legal discovery schedule in an order Monday. Such information would likely provide the first clear picture of the finances of Trump's Washington, D.C., hotel."

It seems inconceivable that all of the investigations into Trump's plethoric and obvious corruption would not result in multiple legal troubles from which it would be impossible to totally extricate himself, but I suspect we're about to find out how truly powerful the office of the presidency is when its occupant is willing to wield that power to shield himself from accountability.