Donald Trump Is ‘Financially Compromised’ By Russia & Mueller Didn’t Explore It, Says Ex Federal Prosecutor
For much of the last two years, while special counsel Robert Mueller conducted his investigation into possible Trump-Russia collusion, rumors were rife that Russia had compromising material on Donald Trump. The Steele dossier funded by Trump’s rivals had first insinuated the existence of such material, but eventually, the public is still in the dark about the existence of something which Russia can use to manipulate America’s president.
The Mueller investigation ended just weeks before, with the conclusion that as far questions of possible Trump-Russia collusion were concerned, there was nothing to indict Trump. No evidence exists of Trump coordinating with Russia to interfere in the 2016 elections, leading Mueller to exonerate him of collusion charges. However, former federal prosecutor and counterintelligence expert, Kenneth McCallion, believes that the nature of the comprising material — or kompromat — is not what has been portrayed in the media, but something more mundane, according to Newsweek.
McCallion, who represented former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in her civil case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, says there is enough evidence available to prosecutors to conclude that Donald Trump is “financially compromised” by Russia. He admitted that it would be difficult to prosecute him since he is the sitting president, but expressed confidence that he will be tried eventually.
“I would not have much difficulty or most experienced prosecutors given what evidence is available now would not have much difficulty prosecuting Mr. Trump.”
“I think that may still happen—it may not happen immediately, but time will tell.”
Donald Trump is "financially compromised" by Russia. Mueller didn't investigate, Congress must, says former federal prosecutorhttps://t.co/ej68Ny1Pmr pic.twitter.com/3QOpwrEnX5
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 14, 2019
A federal prosecutor for over four decades, McCallion has known Donald Trump for a long time. In the 1980s, as part of a sweeping Department of Justice investigation, he had found Trump elude investigators by making “sweetheart deals” between mob-controlled labor unions and developers. He said that it was only natural that Trump called the Mueller investigation a “witch hunt,” adding that it was no surprise when he found out that the president had refused to grant Robert Mueller’s team a proper interview.
“Both Trump and [his attorney] Roy Cohn went through the motions of cooperating, but Trump continued to adamantly deny that he had this corrupt deal,” McCallion said about the 1980s investigation, pointing out that the prosecutors had to finally give up because they had bigger fish to fry at the time.
But during the investigation, McCallion said that he found out that Russian organized crime leaders were providing Trump with the monetary and labor support necessary to keep his real estate enterprise going.
McCallion said that the relationship between Trump and Russia turned political when he announced his nomination, and remains convinced that Trump “aided and abetted” Russia to the harm of American interest out of financial obligation — an aspect Robert Mueller could not explore in his investigation.
The former federal prosecutor has laid out the case against Trump in his upcoming book, Treason & Betrayal: The Rise and Fall of Individual-1, set for a release on Monday.
