YOU MAY GET DISGUSTED, START THINKIN' THAT I'M STRANGE

The dominoes have begun to fall, and one of them – Paul Manafort – was an obvious target.  Donald Trump and some of his enablers in the press are claiming vindication, since the charges against Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates relate mostly to events that took place before Manafort joined Trump’s campaign. 

Unfortunately for Trump, there are a few problems with the narrative that the Manafort indictment is the end of the story.  It’s wishful thinking, and Trump’s lawyers know it, even if he doesn’t.  A more logical assumption is that Manafort has been uncooperative, and that this indictment is Mueller’s signal that he’s not going to fool around.  Manafort is 68.  He’ll either cooperate with the investigation or spend the rest of his life in prison.

But the biggest problem for Donald Trump is that while he and his stooges were taking a victory lap, Mueller dropped the news that there was a third indictment.  Oh by the way, George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor in Trump’s campaign, had been charged with, and had already pleaded guilty to, lying to the FBI about working with Russians to find dirt on Hillary Clinton – after he was hired by the Trump campaign. 

Manafort is a pretty big fish, and I assume that Mueller’s not finished with him.  But for the moment, the Papadopoulos guilty plea is the biggest story of the day.  It destroys the Republican talking point that there was no evidence of collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.  How’s this for evidence?  A grand jury weighed the evidence and returned an indictment, the accused pleaded guilty, and a judge signed off on it.  The Fox-Breitbart Axis of Weasels can wave their collective arms and try to change the subject, but they can’t change that fact.

But wait – there’s more!  The really interesting thing about Papadopoulos’ indictment is that it recommends a sentence of zero months.  That means that Papadopoulos has flipped.  He’s told Mueller everything he knows.  I wonder who else in the Trump campaign stretched the truth a wee bit during their interview with the FBI?  I’ll bet they’re sweating bullets right about now.

My verdict?  This was an absolutely spectacular start for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team.  I look forward to watching this play out.