Byron York: If Mueller didn't charge Flynn and Manafort with collusion, then who was colluding?

[mystery-ak]

Byron York: If Mueller didn't charge Flynn and Manafort with collusion, then who was colluding?
by Byron York
 | March 18, 2018 08:36 PM

Trump-Russia special counsel Robert Mueller is authorized to investigate "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." The popular word for that is collusion, and it remains at the heart of both the Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee investigations. (Majority Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee recently announced they were unable to find evidence proving collusion.)

While much about the Mueller investigation remains unknown, we do know the indictments he has filed and the pleas he has reached with various figures in the case. There are some, including charges against Russia's Internet Research Agency, several individual Russians, and two minor figures, that target either people on the Russian side of the equation or those for whom there are no suspicions of collusion.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-if-mueller-didnt-charge-flynn-and-manafort-with-collusion-then-who-was-colluding

[Restored]

Here's my theory. There was collusion but not just for Trump. Any attempts to prove collusion publicly would damage other protected entities (Hillary, Bernie).

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Byron York: If Mueller didn't charge Flynn and Manafort with collusion, then who was colluding?
by Byron York
 | March 18, 2018 08:36 PM

Trump-Russia special counsel Robert Mueller is authorized to investigate "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." The popular word for that is collusion, and it remains at the heart of both the Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee investigations. (Majority Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee recently announced they were unable to find evidence proving collusion.)

While much about the Mueller investigation remains unknown, we do know the indictments he has filed and the pleas he has reached with various figures in the case. There are some, including charges against Russia's Internet Research Agency, several individual Russians, and two minor figures, that target either people on the Russian side of the equation or those for whom there are no suspicions of collusion.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-if-mueller-didnt-charge-flynn-and-manafort-with-collusion-then-who-was-colluding

That's a great question posed by York.  Presumably, any actual collusion would have been done through Manafort and/or Flynn, as the Trump people with the most Russian ties.  So if they weren't charged....

Hmmmm.

[Concerned]

My reading of the entire order establishing the special counsel essentially identifies 4 focus areas for the investigation:

1.    “A full and thorough investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.”
2.   â€œAny links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.”
3.   â€œAny matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”
4.   â€œAny other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).”

We’ve seen the indictments of the 13 Russians associated with #1. 

I would be very surprised if we found any evidence of #2 (beyond the ill-fated (but apparently legal) Trump Tower meeting), but it seems as though they are still trying to follow any POTENTIAL money trails that MAY exist. 

We’ve seen guilty pleas associated with a number of Trump associates with #3, but there’s still the possibility of obstruction or some other crime being uncovered in the course of the investigation. 

And, of course, a Trump Administration appointee is overseeing the overall investigation.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/967231/download

[LauraTXNM]

My reading of the entire order establishing the special counsel essentially identifies 4 focus areas for the investigation:

1.    “A full and thorough investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.”
2.   â€œAny links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.”
3.   â€œAny matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”
4.   â€œAny other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).”

We’ve seen the indictments of the 13 Russians associated with #1. 

I would be very surprised if we found any evidence of #2 (beyond the ill-fated (but apparently legal) Trump Tower meeting), but it seems as though they are still trying to follow any POTENTIAL money trails that MAY exist. 

We’ve seen guilty pleas associated with a number of Trump associates with #3, but there’s still the possibility of obstruction or some other crime being uncovered in the course of the investigation. 

And, of course, a Trump Administration appointee is overseeing the overall investigation.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/967231/download

@Concerned, thank you for the fantastic summary! 

BTW, I thought Flynn made a deal, so he wasn't charged with everything he could have been.

BTW2, Cambridge Analytica is a new link between Manafort, Stone, Julian Assange, and Russian officials and companies.

[Concerned]

@Concerned, thank you for the fantastic summary! 

BTW, I thought Flynn made a deal, so he wasn't charged with everything he could have been.

BTW2, Cambridge Analytica is a new link between Manafort, Stone, Julian Assange, and Russian officials and companies.

@LauraTXNM 

[LauraTXNM]

@LauraTXNM 

@Concerned, boy I'd love a beer right now!