The unsealing of an indictment containing the names of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner, Rick Gates, on Monday, reverberated around Washington like a cannon shot. But it now appears there’s yet another sealed indictment, and now speculation has begun as to whose name might be on it.
As Kierán Suckling noted on Twitter Monday:
Gates & Manafort indictment is labeled "Indictment (B)". There must be another sealed indictment. It's not Papadopolous; has diff case #. pic.twitter.com/qGi9D7yels
— Kierán Suckling (@KieranSuckling) October 30, 2017
Some have said the second indictment might be for disgraced National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. But others have pointed out that Flynn’s case is being handled by a federal grand jury in a different judicial district.
So again the question lingers: What name might be found on the other indictment? Here are a few names being suggested as likely candidates:
Donald Trump Jr.
We know that Junior had the infamous meeting with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya to discuss damaging information on Hillary Clinton the Russians were offering to share with the Trump campaign. And we know that when Junior was told of the meeting at Trump tower in 2016 to discuss that information, he replied via email with an enthusiastic “I love it.” Paul Manafort was also at that meeting, and he was indicted Monday.
Jared Kushner
Kushner was also at the meeting with the Russian lawyer at Trump Tower. He’s also believed to have been deeply involved in the Trump campaign’s digital ad targeting on social media. Kushner, like his father-in-law, the president, also made his money in real estate, which is known to be a preferred avenue of money laundering for Russian oligarchs and organized crime syndicates.
President Trump
Some say a sitting president cannot be indicted, only impeached. But other legal experts disagree. A memo crafted during Ken Starr’s investigation of President Bill Clinton argued that a president could indeed be indicted, stating:
“It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties. In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law.”
That theory has never been litigated in a court of law, and a final answer on whether or not it can be done legally would probably have to be decided by the Supreme Court.
But just the fact that Trump might be named as an unindicted co-conspirator would likely touch off immediate talk of impeachment.
When will that other indictment be unsealed? Only Robert Mueller and a federal judge know the answer to that question.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org