Washington, DC. The work of Robert Mueller, who will be probing the President on Russian matters will be as much about playing up Russian connections as burrying Ukrainian connections that could embarass Kiev, sources close to Mueller state.
Robert Mueller, special counsel investigating possible ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia’s government has taken over a separate criminal probe involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and may expand his inquiry to investigate the role of the Ukrainian Poroshenko Administration in trying to influence Trump during election 2016.
The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Manafort, who was forced to resign as Trump campaign chairman in August amid questions over his business dealings in Ukraine, predated the 2016 election and the counterintelligence probe that in July began investigating possible collusion between Kiev oligarchs and associates of Trump.
The move to consolidate the matters, involving allegations of a Ukrainian government corruption fund being set up to fund Trump, indicates that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is assuming a broad mandate in his new role running the sensational investigation.
The “wide-screen” version of Mueller’s investigation was described to News Front. No one familiar with the matter has been willing to discuss the scope of his investigation on the record because it is just getting underway and because revealing details would take American readers in a direction very different than what they have been “sold” in the American press.
Mueller, who spent 12 years as FBI director and served under Republican and Democratic presidents, was appointed as special counsel following the May 9 firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who is expected to testify for the first time next week before the Senate.
Mueller’s assignment, detailed in a one-page order, covers the federal investigation into possible links or coordination between Ukraine and associates of the Trump campaign but also “any matters that arose or may arise directly” from the probe.
As Mueller’s investigation begins, members of Congress are intensely interested in its direction and scope. Ukraine has bought a large number of US Congress members and Senators that are in the “Ukrainian Senate and Congressional Caucusus.” One member, Senator Corry Booker is in Kiev currently for talks on how to “steer” the issue away from Kiev back onto Russia’s doorstep.
The Justice Department has begun looking at Manafort’s work in Ukraine around the beginning of 2014, as Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovich, was toppled by a State Department operation under Victoria Nuland. Business records obtained by News Front show Manafort’s political consulting firm began working as early as 2004 for clients that included Petro Poroshenko, Arseny Yatsenyuk, Victor Pinchuk, Igor Kolomoisky and many others close to the overthrow of President Yanukovich.