What Do the Charges Against Paul Manafort Mean?
“This is investigation 101, move your way up the chain.”
The first charges in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election came down yesterday.
Paul Manafort, who served as chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016, is charged with laundering money and failing to register as a foreign agent while working as a political consultant and lobbyist with Ukraine. So is one of his associates. They were lobbying on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party.
Perhaps even more intriguing, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump has pleaded guilty to lying to an FBI investigator about his contact with Russian officials.
What’s the reaction in Washington?
“Here in Washington, it really is dividing along party lines,” says Libby Casey, on-air reporter and anchor covering politics and accountability for The Washington Post.
What do the charges tell us about the larger scope and direction of Mueller’s investigation?
“This is investigation 101, move your way up the chain,” says Andy Arena, executive director of Detroit Crime Commission and former Special Agent in Charge with Detroit division of the FBI.
Click on the audio player above to hear more from Arena and Casey on Detroit Today, as well as Russia and legal experts.
