"So here's where we are . . ." re Mueller

Michelle Goldberg's New York Times column brought us up to date on the Robert Mueller investigation.    Indictments have been served on Paul Manafort and Rick Gates;  and a guilty plea and "active cooperation" obtained from a foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.  Goldberg writes:  

"The question is no longer whether there was cooperation between Trump's campaign and Russia, but how extensive it was. . . . Trump, more gangster than entrepreneur, has long surrounded himself with bottom-feeding scum;  and, for all his nationalistic bluster, his cmpaign was a vehicle for Russian subversion."

Manafort was Trump's campaign chair during the crucial Republican National Convention and continued until he had to resign due to some of the things that came to light that are now in the indictment.   Gates was Manifort's deputy and business partner, who is charged with most of the same counts;  but notably Gastes was kept on by the campaign for some time after Manafort was pushed out.

Papadopoulos has confessed he met with Russian operatives and tried to set up a meeting with Trump campaign officials and Russians who were offering dirt from Clinton emails -- even before it was publicly revealed that the DNC had been hacked by Russia.

Goldberg concludes with:   "So here's where we are.  Trump put Manafort -- an accused money-launderer and unregistered foreign agent -- in charge of his campaign.  Under Manafort's watch, the campaign made at least two attempts to get compromising information about Clinton from Russia.  Russia, in turn, provided hacked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks.

"Russia also ran a giant disinformation campaign against Clinton on social media and attempted to hack voting systems in at least 21 states.  In response to Russia's election meddling, Barack Obama's administration imposed sanctions.  Upon taking office, Trump reportedly made secret efforts to lift them.   He fired the FBI director James Comey to stop his investigation into 'the Russia thing'; as he told Lester Holt.  The day after the firing, he met with Russia's foreign minister and its ambassador to America and told them:  'I faced great pressure because of Russia.  That's taken off.'"

There are a lot more connections, involving many more of the Trump associates.  And yet Trump and his apologists would have us believe it's all a witch hunt, that we need to get rid of Mueller and open investigations into Clinton -- and how she colluded with the Russians . . . but for what?   To bring about her own defeat?   Duh!

Ralph