Nelson Cunningham appeared on MSNBC on Saturday and gave his summary of where the Mueller investigation stands. Cunningham is a formal federal prosecutor who served under Rudy Giuliani, served as the general counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee under Joe Biden, and as the general counsel for the White House under Bill Clinton.
Former White House General Counsel Nelson Cunningham gives three predictions for the future of the Mueller investigation, including when it will be over and how Paul Manafort can avoid jail time https://t.co/yJDlUczvLH pic.twitter.com/47M5BKEbMB
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) May 21, 2018
Nelson believes that some of the secretive filings by Mueller indicate that the president is about to receive a subpoena. POLITICO reporters have visited the clerk’s office where Mueller files motions and have overheard conversations that led Cunningham to draw important conclusions about the case.
‘Thanks to some careful reporting by Politico, which I have analyzed from my perspective as a former prosecutor, we might have stumbled upon How Robert Mueller Is Spending His Midterms: secretly litigating against President Donald Trump for the right to throw him in the grand jury.’
Special Counsel Robert Mueller may well be in the final stages of wrapping up his principal investigation, writes Nelson Cunningham: https://t.co/yBHwWEUhxS
— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) May 29, 2018
Cunningham says that, just like Kenneth Starr did in 1998, Mueller will almost certainly have to have Trump answer questions in front of a grand jury in order to complete his case. Like Richard Nixon during Watergate, the most important question involves Trump’s knowledge of the crime being investigated.
‘What Trump knew and when he knew it, and what exactly motivated his statements and actions, are central to Mueller’s inquiry on both Russian interference and obstruction of justice.’
FASCINATING theory by former federal prosecutor Nelson Cunningham (@therealNWC). He & @politico pieced together recent under-the-radar moves by the Special Counsel to argue Trump has ALREADY been subpoenaed, and the WH is fighting it.
Well worth the read.https://t.co/UYwOSJWiz6
— Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) October 31, 2018
The speed with which the courts have granted requests and expected a response are also a good indication that the motions being filed involve no ordinary case.
‘Mindful of the time it would take to fight out the legal issues surrounding a presidential subpoena, and mindful of the ticking clock on Mueller’s now 18-month-old investigation, many of us began to wonder whether Mueller had decided to forgo the compelling and possibly conclusive nature of presidential testimony in favor of findings built on inference and circumstantial evidence. A move that would leave a huge hole in his final report and findings…One day after getting the witness’ motion, the court gave the special counsel just three days to respond—blindingly short as appellate proceedings go. The special counsel’s papers were filed October 1.’
Top Prosecutor Reveals Sealed Litigation In DC Court Could Mean Mueller Has Already Subpoenaed Trump https://t.co/12NCInKl2s #NelsonCunningham #RobertMuellerInvestigation #SaturdayMorning
— US National News (@US_NationalNews) November 17, 2018
Whoever is named in the filing, responses filed suggest that the witness is no ordinary citizen, as well. In fact, the witness believed “the case was so important that it merited the very unusual action of convening all 10 of the D.C. Circuit judges to review the order.” However, one judge recused himself from the proceedings. Judge Gregory Katsas is the only judge appointed by Trump and once served as Trump’s deputy counsel.
‘If the witness here were unrelated to the White House, unless the matter raised one of the discrete legal issues on which Katsas had previously given advice, there would be no reason for the judge to recuse himself.’
Nelson Cunningham, who served as a federal prosecutor in the SDNY under Rudolph Giuliani, general counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-chair Joe Biden, and general counsel of the White House Office of Administration under Bill Clinton, sees a crisis looming: pic.twitter.com/1f3vwo7X7Q
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) May 29, 2018
What is certainly clear is that the Mueller investigation is moving quickly now that the midterms have ended. For now, the country is braced to find out what happens next.
Featured image via Flickr by Ted Eytan under a Creative Commons license
