Investigating a Murder and finding a Bank Roberry
Prosecutors cannot turn a blind eye to one crime when they are investigating another. Trump's victory lap is certainly premature. This is not because the "deep state" is relentless or because the "fake news" media is out to get him, it is because, despite the fact that Mueller failed to find evidence of criminal collusion, he conducted an investigation which resulted in numerous indictments, including the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
In addition to Manafort, Trump's former "fixer" and former lawyer (Michael Cohen) is counting the days until he goes to federal prison on charges that included paying a porn star (Stormy Daniels) for her silence in violation of campaign finance law. Trump, by the way, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.
Russia, Russia, Russia
We also found out that Trump lied repeatedly about his business dealings with Russia. Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail and well into his Presidency he had no business dealings with Russia, or that they ended prior to 2016. Such is certainly not the case.
Trump's business interest in Russia (or at that time, the Soviet Union) began in the mid 1980s when he explored the possibility of building hotels in Russia, including one "across the street from the Kremlin." He bragged about this in his book "Art of the Deal." His interest in Russia as a business opportunity never came to fruition, but it also didn't end until well into 2016 when he was saying he didn't have and wasn't pursuing any business deals in Russia.
The best defense Buzz and I heard with regards to the collusion with Russia is that the Trump campaign was so disorganized that it couldn't collude with anyone, including itself. We believe this, wholeheartedly.
Where do we go from here?
As we said, this is not over, and rightfully so. The Democratic Congress will continue to do its job --- provide the checks and balances spelled out in the United States Constitution. They are investigating and will continue to investigate Trump, despite the summary of the findings of the Mueller investigation.
In addition to the previously mentioned election finance law violation, Trump's inaugural committee is being investigated for possible illegal spending and fundraising, his charitable organization has been fined millions of dollars and forced to close its doors, and there are multiple issues being investigated by Congress and various United States Attorney's offices in Trump's past business dealings. These investigations will, in all likelihood continue to haunt Trump for years to come.
Just because Trump squeaked out a Presidential election victory in the perfect storm of 2016 doesn't mean that we should turn a blind eye to prior wrongdoings. He is not above the law since he has been elected President. If Trump did not want increased scrutiny, he never should have ridden down the escalator in 2015 and announced his candidacy for President of the United States. The Presidency has many perks, but being scrutinized on everything you do and ever did is not one of them. It is a hazard of the job.
When it comes to investigations, we quote the late Yogi Berra, "it ain't over 'til it's over," and the "fat lady" hasn't even warmed up.
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