Today We Settle All Mueller Family Business

The last few days have seen flurry of Mueller probe-related news. But today, today y’all, Robert Mueller seems to be handling his business. One half expects Mueller to pull Donald Trump into a room and tell him: “Manafort is dead. So is Michael Cohen. Jerome Corsi. Stone. Assange. Today, I settle all family business, so don’t tell me you’re innocent, Donny. It insults my intelligence. It makes me very angry.”

I’m being hyperbolic, but just take a step back and look at the three things happening today. Let’s start with the thing you all know is important.

1. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

Yes, yes, yes. Donald Trump’s incompetent lying personal attorney incompetently lied to Congress. He’s taking a sweetheart deal on the plea, which suggests that Cohen has sufficiently buried whoever Mueller wanted him to.

I don’t have a lot to substantively say beyond what Ken White has explained in this thread, so I’ll just link that here.

https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1068163525560791040

Cohen’s plea deal is significant, but maybe not the most significant news of the day.

2. Deutsche Bank Got Raided

German authorities raided Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters this morning in connection with an ongoing investigation into the bank’s misdeeds inspired by the Panama Papers.

Deutsche is allegedly involved in various money-laundering schemes and fraud. It’s easy to think of the German bank having nothing to do with Trump (nee Drumpf), but as Bloomberg puts it: “Deutsche Bank’s Troubles Are Donald Trump’s Troubles.”

What’s likely now, however, is that Trump’s dealings with Deutsche — which have represented, at a minimum, a serious and long-standing financial conflict for him given the influence he wields over law enforcement and financial regulation as president — are about to draw greater scrutiny.

The House Financial Services Committee, which Democrats will take control of in January, has the power to subpoena Deutsche for banking records and other information regarding its relationship with the president, the Trump Organization and the Kushner family. It seems almost certain that the committee will deploy that power — especially given the news that Deutsche has landed in the middle of yet another money-laundering probe.

If you subscribe to the “follow the money” theory of crime, a lot of Trump’s money leads back and through Deutsche Bank. Any serious investigation into his financial records will include Deutsche, and Deutsche is on fire.

But if you prefer Trump-related financial news closer to home:

3. Federal Agents Raid Ed Burke’s Office, Paper Over Windows

Who is Ed Burke? He’s a lawyer and Chicago city alderman whose firm did tax work for Donald Trump for over a decade. What does his office look like today?

For the uninitiated, that’s what your office looks like from the outside when the Feds are absolutely tossing it on the inside.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, federal agents showed up at Burke’s office this morning, kicked everybody out, and papered over the windows.

The nature of their visit is unknown. And given that Burke is a Chicago politician, it’s always possible that this is just some kind of “normal” Chicago-based corruption investigation.

But given Burke’s connection with Trump, and all the other Trump-related things going down today and this week, it sure feels like raiding Trump’s former tax lawyer is not a coincidence.

The fact that Donald Trump is acting like a feral pigeon that’s being backed into a corner also suggests Mueller is closing in on his money. From the Office of the President of the United States:

When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

Come on, do you think Mueller would make Mike Pence a widow? Just admit what you did.

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Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.