Renato Mariotti @renato_mariotti
THREAD: What does today's @nytimes story about the status of the Mueller investigation tell us?
1/ Today's @nytimes story provides us with a wealth of information about the state of the Mueller investigation that confirms much of what
2/ I told you in prior threads. It is jam packed with interesting information. Here is the link:
3/ Let's start with this revelation. Paul Manafort is a "target" of the investigation. For the first time, we now know the Mueller probe
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, then followed the house search with a warning: His prosecutors told Mr. Manafort they planned to indict him, said two people close to the investigation.
4/ will likely result in charges. More importantly, the tactic that Mueller is usingtelling Manafort that he will be chargedis generally
5/ used when prosecutors are trying to get a defendant to "flip." This strongly suggests what we've long expected--that Mueller is trying
6/ to "flip" Manafort. What causes a target to "flip"? The #1 factor is assembling sufficient evidence to make it likely that the person
7/ will be convicted and serve a prison sentence. Mueller's team is being as aggressive as possible to indicate to Manafort that he should
8/ be concerned about that possibility. Subpoenaing Manafort's aides and his lawyer (more on her later) shows his focus on Manafort.
Mr. Mueller has obtained a flurry of subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify before a grand jury, lawyers and witnesses say, sometimes before his prosecutors have taken the customary first step of interviewing them. One witness was called before the grand jury less than a month after his name surfaced in news accounts. The special counsel even took the unusual step of obtaining a subpoena for one of Mr. Manafort’s former lawyers, claiming an exception to the rule that shields attorney-client discussions from scrutiny.
9/ So why was Mueller able to subpoena Manafort's lawyer? Because she was not acting as a lawyer in that representation. A lawyer's
10/ words aren't automatically privileged just because he/she is a lawyer. If you hire a lawyer to act as a lobbyist or PR person, for
11/ example, your conversations with the lawyer are not privilege. There is only privilege where the lawyer is practicing law.
Mr. Mueller’s team also took the unusual step of issuing a subpoena to Melissa Laurenza, a specialist in lobbying law who formerly represented Mr. Manafort, according to people familiar with the subpoena. Conversations between lawyers and their clients are normally considered bound by attorney-client privilege, but there are exceptions when lawyers prepare public documents that are filed on behalf of their client.
12/ The story also confirms something I told you long ago--that the Manafort search warrant was a "no knock" warrant that required Mueller
13/ to show the judge that there was a reason to believe that Manafort would destroy evidence if they knocked on the door as usual.
It is unusual for a prosecutor to seek a search warrant against someone who, like Mr. Manafort, had already put his lawyer in contact with the Justice Department. No search warrants were executed during the investigations by Mr. Starr or Patrick J. Fitzgerald, a special counsel appointed during the George W. Bush administration to investigate the leak of the name of a C.I.A. officer.
To get the warrant, Mr. Mueller’s team had to show probable cause that Mr. Manafort’s home contained evidence of a crime. To be allowed to pick the lock and enter the home unannounced, prosecutors had to persuade a federal judge that Mr. Manafort was likely to destroy evidence.
14/ As I've told you before, the mere fact that Mueller used a search warrant indicates that he didn't trust Manafort to respond fully to a
15/ subpoena request. So why has Mueller been more trusting of the White House? See this excerpt:
For the moment, Mr. Mueller’s team has shown a measure of deference to White House officials, sparing them grand jury subpoenas and allowing them to appear for voluntary interviews. Those sessions are expected to begin soon. Ty Cobb, a lawyer brought in to manage the White House response to the inquiry, has told administration officials that he wants to avoid any subpoenas from the special prosecutor.