# A Thread for the Mueller Investigation Results and Outcomes (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093 "2017-10-28T20:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/241 "2017-10-31T15:05:09Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > We’d have to indict nearly every Republican in Congress, if that’s a crime. Seems a bit wasteful and counterproductive. But what a fun fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/242 "2017-10-31T15:07:06Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What’s Bannon suspected of? (Besides being an all-around human dumpster fire.) He’s tied into Cambridge Analytica and the Mercers. Also could have criminal exposure w/ Breitbart depending on how things were run there. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/243 "2017-10-31T15:09:07Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Barron may have colluded with others on his homework. I hope the poor kid at least gets some play dates with some of his classmates every now and then, rather than having to go home to the White House every afternoon. It has to be a lonely place for a kid that age. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/244 "2017-10-31T15:15:30Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Close involvement with Trump. > [@friedo](#): > > We’d have to indict nearly every Republican in Congress, if that’s a crime. Seems a bit wasteful and counterproductive. But very satisfying ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/245 "2017-10-31T15:19:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Yes I meant Barron of course. Though Barron may have colluded with others on his homework. I’ve heard his grades in his Russian language class are suspiciously high. Just sayin.’ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/246 "2017-10-31T15:21:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I hope the poor kid at least gets some play dates with some of his classmates every now and then, rather than having to go home to the White House every afternoon. It has to be a lonely place for a kid that age. I feel bad for the kid. Maybe having a celebrity dad prepared him a bit, but being a kid in the White House can’t be easy. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/247 "2017-10-31T15:28:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m wondering if the release of the Papodopoulous news means that Mueller got what he needed from him and no longer needs GP as an informant? It seems obvious that any un-indicted co-conspirators would at least know they should watch their ps and qs around GP. So, that doesn’t sound like an unreasonable thing to suspect. Sometimes though, especially at high levels of mastery, things are done which seem counter-intuitive to the layperson. But as one layperson to another, you’re prob’ly right. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/248 "2017-10-31T15:34:15Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m wondering if the release of the Papodopoulous news means that Mueller got what he needed from him and no longer needs GP as an informant? Great question. There must be a balance between continuing to seal the court matter and using him to entrap the others and going public with it so that those who were in cahoots with him know that their goose is cooked. I can only imagine the horror that those who confided in Papodopolous recently are feeling right now. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/249 "2017-10-31T15:39:21Z")
Has Fox started the “Pap smear” snickering yet? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/250 "2017-10-31T15:40:42Z")
ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/251 "2017-10-31T15:41:24Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I feel bad for the kid. Maybe having a celebrity dad prepared him a bit, but being a kid in the White House can’t be easy. The private school he’s in seems to be noted for special needs kids, and there’s been some quiet talk about autism. So yeah, leave the kid some room. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/252 "2017-10-31T15:42:59Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > It seems obvious that any un-indicted co-conspirators would at least know they should watch their ps and qs around GP. Don’t forget that these guys are idiots. GP deleted his Facebook account thinking this would keep it from the motherfucking FBI. And they’re all that way, all the way through Kelly and Trump, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/253 "2017-10-31T15:43:48Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > but being a kid in the White House can’t be easy. What do you mean? He’s surrounded by other children (by mental age, anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/254 "2017-10-31T15:45:04Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I think the reason that Pubs refuse to let the Clinton thing refuse to die is that it’s THE ONE thing all Republicans can still unite behind, i.e., hatred of her. When her name is brought up, for an instant they stop tearing at each other’s flesh, raise their fists in the air, and shout, “Yeah! Yeah! That bitch! Lock her up!” > > … She’s an albatross around the neck of the Democratic party and should be treated like one. Quit allowing the press to look to her as a Dem spokesperson whenever anything happens in Washington. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/255 "2017-10-31T15:47:44Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I posted this awhile ago. > > This thing reminds me a lot about the last episode were Michael J Fox was officially a cast member in the show Spin City. > > ["Spin City" Goodbye: Part 2 (TV Episode 2000) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0707023/) > > I think that, besides the message to be loyal and to be willing to be a fall guy for what you know it was caused by the naiveté of your boss (and Mike knew how important it was anyhow to help his boss to keep his position **after** he and the staff got rid of the bad influences), one message should not be lost: the politician did learn the lesson to avoid the mafioso that was influencing policy. It was, even though in fiction, an example of how shining light on conflicts of interest and suspicious connections is supposed to work in helping democracies to fight corruption in the near past. > > Of course in real life nowadays I do not see anyone that is willing to take the blame, because Trump also has a knack for selecting people that are as conning (yes, not “cunning” but “conning”) as he is. They only are loyal to themselves. And unlike Winston (the naive boss of Mike) Trump is not naive, he is too close to corruption. He is still looking to get close to undemocratic thugs, undemocratic leaders and other unsavory people that are not really thinking much about the well being of the USA. > > In essence, I do think that the effort of forcing Trump to RTFM of what a president of the USA is supposed to be or to learn how to at least avoid bad connections or the appearance of bad conflicts of interest is a very worthy effort indeed. > > That, and this helps us to find who are the rascals that continue to look the other way when they see the reprehensible behavior of Trump. It helps us to toss them out in the next elections. So, you are saying that Charlie Sheen will be joining the trump admin? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/256 "2017-10-31T15:47:49Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > It seems obvious that any un-indicted co-conspirators would at least know they should watch their ps and qs around GP. But since the matter was sealed, and his arrest was done on the DL, I’d be surprised if any co-conspirators all the sudden became that careful over the past few months. By all indications, these guys were pretty willy nilly—not exactly seasoned criminals. Look at Carter Page ferchristsake. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/257 "2017-10-31T15:54:38Z")
Maybe Mueller wants the guys who know they’re on George’s wire to sweat it out a little and then roll? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, you are saying that Charlie Sheen will be joining the trump admin? You’re gonna get tired of all that Winning! ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/258 "2017-10-31T16:03:36Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Exactly. I mean, how the FUCK does someone manage to do that??? By the other person cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/259 "2017-10-31T16:11:38Z")
The way I see it, if you keep the Papadopoulos flip quiet, then you can nail whoever actually said anything incriminating to him up to now, and you can also nail anyone who says anything incriminating to him in the future until such time that someone figures out that he’s flipped. If you reveal that he’s flipped, though, you still get anyone who’s already said anything incriminating to him… but also, consider all of the people who aren’t sure whether they’ve said anything incriminating to him or not. After all, there are a lot of topics that come up in those high-level discussions, and most of them are slimy-but-legal at worst. If you’re not sure what you’ve said to him when, then you’ve got a decision to weigh: Try to get away with it, or talk to the FBI now and try to negotiate a better deal, while you might still have some leverage. And so the FBI might be able to get you, or the information you have, even if it turns out that they didn’t actually have any dirt on you yet. Apparently, yesterday was the point at which Mueller decided that the benefit from worrying everyone else outweighed the benefit from keeping Papadopoulos hidden in place. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/260 "2017-10-31T16:21:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The way I see it, if you keep the Papadopoulos flip quiet, then you can nail whoever actually said anything incriminating to him up to now, and you can also nail anyone who says anything incriminating to him in the future until such time that someone figures out that he’s flipped. If you reveal that he’s flipped, though, you still get anyone who’s already said anything incriminating to him… but also, consider all of the people who aren’t sure whether they’ve said anything incriminating to him or not. After all, there are a lot of topics that come up in those high-level discussions, and most of them are slimy-but-legal at worst. If you’re not sure what you’ve said to him when, then you’ve got a decision to weigh: Try to get away with it, or talk to the FBI now and try to negotiate a better deal, while you might still have some leverage. And so the FBI might be able to get you, or the information you have, even if it turns out that they didn’t actually have any dirt on you yet. > > Apparently, yesterday was the point at which Mueller decided that the benefit from worrying everyone else outweighed the benefit from keeping Papadopoulos hidden in place. That’s plausible. But IMO it’s more likely that Papadopoulos has incriminating info from his time on the campaign as opposed to being able to produce it later. Because AFAIK he had no role in the Trump administration, and it’s not like he was a big mover and shaker who would ordinarily be in contact with senior Trump people. On the campaign his role is critical as to the specific Russia issue because he tried to set up these contacts, but he was not otherwise a senior level guy. He was, in the end, a recent college graduate who latched on to the thinly populated Carson and later Trump policy teams. So, assuming (as certainly makes sense) that the GP plea was kept quiet due to his cooperation, it’s possible that the exact opposite is what happened. GP fished for a while but after a few months Mueller realized he wasn’t going to get anything and the targets weren’t taking his calls anymore anyway … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=14)