Michael Cohen’s name may have been on the court filing yesterday but the headliner was “Individual 1,” aka Donald Trump. This is the big headline from yesterdays action. From The Washington Post:
“In two major developments this week, President Trump has been labeled in the parlance of criminal investigations as a major subject of interest, complete with an opaque legal code name: “Individual 1.”
“New evidence from two separate fronts of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation casts fresh doubts on Trump’s version of key events involving Russia, signaling potential political and legal peril for the president. Investigators have now publicly cast Trump as a central figure of their probe into whether Trump’s campaign conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign.”
In Mueller investigation Trump is now "Individual 1,” a central figure. And the context of it all, the Moscow Trump Tower, suggests a profit motive for Trump's persistent and unexplained affinity for Russia. https://t.co/cVZGrKUi5l
— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) November 30, 2018
From The New York Times:
“Trump’s participation in discussions about building a grand skyscraper in Moscow showed how the interests of his business empire were enmeshed with his political ambitions as he was closing in on the Republican nomination for president.”
“On at least 23 occasions since the summer of 2016, Mr. Trump has said either that he had “nothing” to do with Russia, or that he has “no deals,” no investments and no “business” in Russia.” New York Times
As for the Mueller investigation, yesterday’s news was just another small piece of an ever-expanding puzzle. From Axios:
“Remember Michael Cohen’s two major revelations so far have come in just two, fairly limited, specific episodes, both of which investigative reporters have unearthed ahead of time: Stormy Daniels’ hush money payments and the Moscow Trump Tower project. Cohen, though, worked with Trump — on his most sensitive messes — for a decade. What other episodes does he know about that we haven’t unearthed yet?”
Robert Mueller knows much more. Stand by.