Here’s some potentially bad news for President Trump…he may not be out of legal trouble even after Robert Mueller gives his final report. There will be other challenges like the investigations by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), among others, that will be are pressing in on him.
Legal experts have stressed the importance of the New York investigation in particular, which focuses on scrutiny of everything from apparent hush money payments to women to the funding of the president’s 2017 inauguration.
“Trump is not out of the woods and I think the SDNY proceedings are the most dangerous for both him and for members of his immediate family,” said Mark Zaid, a D.C.-based attorney who has represented clients from both major parties. “There is still a lot to be concerned about.”
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is drawing to a close, but a Department of Justice official on Friday pushed back on earlier reports that the special counsel’s final report was only days away. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) warned that Mueller should not finish his probe because of outside political pressure.
“Is it done because he says it’s done or because of pressure from the attorney general or the White House?” he asked.
Trump allies are showing some confidence that, absent any truly damning information, the completion of the probe will allow the president to get out from under the dark cloud that has hung over most of his presidency.
“If you actually follow what people on the left think, they truly believe Mueller is going to find proof of collusion, and roll up the president and his family in an indictment,” a former Trump administration official said. “Their base has extremely high expectations for what is going to come out.”
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that “our focus is not on the Mueller report, but it’s on doing our jobs. It is on focusing on the things that Americans care about.”
Trump, in a Twitter post on Friday, quoted the words of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who said he had found no evidence of collusion.
“The Witch Hunt, so bad for our Country, must end!” Trump added.
Another case is being brought by Summer Zervos, who alleges that Trump defamed her when he accused her of lying in 2016 for alleging he had groped her a decade before.
“There are many investigations that lead back to the president,” Zeldin said. “Mueller may completely exculpate the president but that doesn’t mean that all these collateral investigations don’t move forward.”
Share this:
