Day 316: Trump Supplies Mueller With More Ammo

Trump has a nasty habit of asking people in charge of Russia investigations to let them go.

The most likely person to bring down Donald Trump is the man himself.

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump begged like a dog to get Senate Republicans to drop the investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference.

Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the intelligence committee chairman, said in an interview this week that Mr. Trump told him that he was eager to see an investigation that has overshadowed much of the first year of his presidency come to an end.

“It was something along the lines of, ‘I hope you can conclude this as quickly as possible,’” Mr. Burr said. He said he replied to Mr. Trump that “when we have exhausted everybody we need to talk to, we will finish.”

In addition, according to lawmakers and aides, Mr. Trump told Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri and a member of the intelligence committee, to end the investigation swiftly.

The Times noted that Trump “frequently” complained to McConnell about the investigation.

For a man with nothing to hide and who claims to be totally innocent of made up charges, it’s certainly an interesting approach. While special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigatory scope is wider and far more dangerous to Trump than an investigation led by partisan Republicans, Trump was scrambling anyway.

Trump has a way of hoping for many things. Much like he told Burr he hopes the investigation goes away, Trump told then-FBI director James Comey — who, at the time, was overseeing the federal investigation into Russian election meddling — “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” (Flynn is currently staring down the barrel of a number of federal charges as numerous reports indicate he is working to cut a deal with Mueller.) That “hope” line and the subsequent firing of Comey has apparently been circled with red ink by Mueller and his team as potential evidence of obstruction of justice.

Here, in an eerily familiar pattern, Trump is attempting to influence yet another investigation into Russian meddling issues by going to the person overseeing the inquiry. This, yet again, is sure to get Mueller’s red pen out.

While Republicans are quick to cover for Trump and excuse his behavior, they’re equally fast to cover their own behinds.

Mr. Burr said he did not feel pressured by the president’s appeal, portraying it as the action of someone who has “never been in government.” But he acknowledged other members of his committee have had similar discussions with Mr. Trump. “Everybody has promptly shared any conversations that they’ve had,” Mr. Burr said.

While Burr knows “I’ve never been in government” is not an appropriate legal defense to obstruction of justice charges, his statement betrays what he knows to be right when he adds “everyone has promptly shared any conversations that they’ve had.” In other words, ‘we’re not hiding anything on our end.’

Burr also opens the door for Mueller to question every member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as it appears many or all of the members have information or evidence which could bolster certain obstruction charges.

Bottom line: Burr’s admissions and, to be more accurate, Trump’s actions are far from inconsequential: they’re damning. They’ve opened the door to yet another avenue for Mueller to pursue charges against Trump for obstruction of justice and show a pattern of behavior by Trump designed to end prying eyes into Russia.

316 days in, 1146 to go

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