After midterms, Mueller prepares blockbuster moves

The odds are high that special counsel Robert Mueller will soon announce dramatic news that will escalate our national discussion of the Russia scandal to red-hot levels of intensity that may well compel Congress to begin a serious discussion of impeachment.

Three critical matters were long obvious to informed observers of the Russia investigation. First, Mueller was well aware of the possibility that President Trump would attempt to execute a “Saturday Night Massacre” attack against him and the Russia investigation shortly after the midterm voting was concluded. 

{mosads}Second, Mueller has used the “silent period” during the midterm campaign to advance the investigation assertively without public discussion, under the radar of the media until now. Third, the issues of obstruction of justice and abuse of power are far more grave than is generally realized.

If it is true that Trump aggressively pushed for criminal prosecution of his political opponents and that then-White House counsel Donald McGahn had to intervene, keep in mind that McGahn has spent dozens of hours cooperating with Mueller and his team.

The quiet period for Mueller will soon end. Recently, Mueller and lawyers for Paul Manafort agreed to seek a delay in filing court documents that would detail Manafort’s cooperation with the investigation until next Monday. 

In other words, in a few days, there will almost certainly be publicly known major news that will give the court and the American people a much clearer idea of exactly how Manafort has been cooperating with Mueller.

It is very possible, and in my view likely, that there have already been indictments issued and plea bargain agreements reached that for now remain under seal, which will be unsealed and announced in the coming days and weeks.

Trump attempting to name Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general can be seen as a desperate last-ditch effort by Trump — which is ultimately doomed to fail — to derail the Mueller investigation.

House Democrats won a landslide victory in the midterm elections with a powerful national mandate to become the check and balance that was missing when the House and Senate were both controlled by the GOP.

For the final two years of the Trump presidency, not one penny will be authorized or appropriated on any program favored by Trump without approval from the Democratic House. Not one tax law will be passed without approval from the Democratic House. 

Not one action will be taken against the Mueller investigation without aggressive action in response from House Democrats, including calling administration officials to testify under oath and issuing aggressive subpoenas in response to any attempt to derail Mueller.

Regarding the blockbuster news that is almost certainly imminent, the issue of possible collusion with the Russians who continue attacking America will take center stage. Look for the infamous Trump Tower meeting to become front-page news again.  

Look for the issue of obstruction of justice to reach white-hot levels of intensity. Look for the issue of abuse of power, including whether Trump sought to pressure the Department of Justice to prosecute Hillary Clinton and James Comey, to continue at white-hot levels. 

Look for imminent news of more indictments and more plea bargains. Look for a far more serious discussion of impeachment if coming revelations from the Mueller investigation, which are destined to become public soon, so warrant.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.