To shorten: financial records. Trump shenanigans in real estate and finance. Want to know how much Il Douche is really worth? We may be about to find out.
And how his various real estate dealings were financed. Of course, it is still possible that a thorough investigation will reveal an entirely pure and ethical set of transactions, strictly in line with the standards of trust and honesty that American capitalism pretends to.
If this was a movie an FBI agent mid-raid hearing one of the phones in evidence bags ring, pick it up and hear Trump say.
“Mike! thank god i got you. I hear the FBI is coming to raid your office. It is of utmost importance that you destroy all the documents in the covfefe file. If they get their hands on those we are sunk! Run to your office and shred them now. Mike… Mike… are you there?”
Camera slowly pans over to a thin file on the desk and focuses in the label “covfefe”.
Everyone’s wondered for a while now what this whole fiasco will be called-- variations of Watergate get bandied about from time to time-- I think the name’s been there all along. Covfefe.
Yes & no. That RawStory link I put in earlier (here it is again - link) included a clip of Rudy on his Wedsnight interview with Hannity where he (Rudy) said:
**
“He fired Comey because Comey would not … among other things … say that he wasn’t a target of the investigation. He’s entitled to that. Hillary Clinton got that.”**
That part of is right at the start of the CNN video on the RawStory page.
So Rudy actually was talking about Comey’s refusal to give a public announcement of Donald’s targethood, he just spoke sloppily.
Of course, comparing the situation of Comey’s clearing Hillary (who was the target of multiple finished investigations, and was cleared) with Comey’s refusal to publicly clear Donald (who was the current target of an ongoing investigation) is also sloppy, but what else do they have.
I didn’t mention Behar because of her legal analysis, which she didn’t offer, but because of her dark suspicions about the rotten core of Rudy’s heart, which amused me.
In all his previous encounters with the law (e.g., his many civil suits, dealing with gaming commissions, etc.) his MO has been to bluster and delay as much as possible. In the end he’d either wear down his opponents so they would just give up or pay them off so they’d go away (usually for less than they really wanted because they had been worn down.)
A major federal criminal probe is inexhaustible and actually gets bigger as it goes, but I don’t think Trump realizes that even today since it’s so far outside his personal experience.
Because if he does, it won’t stop the investigation; he’ll add on a few more serious obstruction charges; all his witnesses (Flynn, Cohen, Manafort) will still be wrapped up on various state charges and he, Trump, can’t protect himself by firing them. He may also (at last) galvanize Congress to move decisively against him – if the public is outraged enough.
Mueller wove his investigation through law enforcement at all levels. He passed primary responsibility for the conspiracy matters to internal FBI career agents who will pursue them with Mueller or without him. He has IRS agents pursuing the tax matters. He has SDNY handling the investigations of crimes occurring within their jurisdiction. He has Eric Schneiderman working at the state level in New York and working to close the pardon loophole in addition to handling criminal prosecutions at the state level. And this is only what we know about.
As Michael Caputo who was recently interviewed by the Mueller team said, “It’s clear they are still really focused on Russia collusion,” then added, “They know more about the Trump campaign than anyone who ever worked there.”
He went on to say, “The Senate and the House are net fishing. The special counsel is spearfishing. They know what they are aiming at and are deadly accurate.”
Also, regarding the interview itself, “It was very, very difficult. They know a lot. They have everything.”
In short, there is no stopping this investigation now, and Trump has nothing to gain by firing Rosenstein/Mueller. That’s why Trump and his cronies are trying to fight it as a political matter and not a legal one.
It’s over, but the mop-up period is going to be messy, long and painful.
I think there are so many different crimes that are up for grabs that anything much short of “The Trump Presidency” would accidentally diminish the scope of options.