Mueller Time - Third Quarter 2018

On 05/17/2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as Special Council. Mueller was to investigate any possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign or other Americans and the Russian government regarding the 2016 elections. The investigation was not limited to that issue and any crimes discovered while investigating were also subject to prosecution and/or being turned over to the Justice Department or state prosecutors.

A partial list of third quarter 2018 news about the investigation. The Mueller team remains remarkably tight-lipped about their activities. Most information comes from public court filings and hearings. 

• 7/13 - Mueller's team and DOJ indict 12 Russian intelligence officers for the hacking of the DNC and Clinton campaign. 
• 7/17 - Mueller asks for immunity for five witnesses in the Paul Manafort trial.
• 7/31 - Paul Manafort's financial fraud trial in Virginia begins. 
• 8/10 - A federal judge holds Andrew Miller, a Roger Stone and Trump associate, in contempt of court for refusing to testify before Mueller's grand jury.  
• 8/21 - Paul Manafort found guilty on eight of 18 counts.
• 8/21 - Michael Cohen pleads guilty to eight counts including campaign finance violations. Implicates Trump.
• 9/7 - George Papadopoulos is sentenced to 14 days in jail for lying to the FBI. The light sentence was part of a plea deal for cooperating with the Mueller investigation.
• 9/14 - Paul Manafort pleads guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice. He agrees to cooperate with the Special Counsel investigation as part of the plea deal. 

With the exception of the Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen court dealings, it was a quiet quarter for public news and details. I don't expect much news until after the mid-term elections on November 6th. 

wjh