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Mueller Sends More Cases To SDNY For Possible Prosecution

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Lost in the mix of Manafort and other news, there is a significant development in Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.  Mueller has referred a number of cases to the Southern District of New York for possible prosecution, including reportedly case involving longtime Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta and his work for his former firm, the Podesta Group and former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, a former partner at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.  It is not clear if charges would emerge from these cases but the referral further decentralizes the investigation.

 

I have previously written that I fail to see why Mueller has continued the prosecution of Manafort when he sent the Cohen allegations to New York. If anything, some of the Cohen allegations do touch on the campaign while the two cases in Washington and Virginia against Mueller are entirely separate from the original mandate of Mueller.

The new referrals reportedly deal with lobbying issues and the failure to register as foreign agents.  It is not clear however if the immunity deals struck for the Manafort trial and investigation would impair any prosecution against figures like Tony Podesta.

Indeed, in the end, new charges may be brought by the SDNY. What is curious about the referral is that some of these lobbying allegations center on Washington rather than New York.  It is not clear why the D.C. U.S. Attorney was not selected as the appropriate office.
The Podesta Group has long said that it was misled about its client’s interests and that it registered its work for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECFMU) with Congress. It said that it also had secured an outside legal consultant on the appropriate steps to take.
The ultimate significance of the referrals will only be known in time. These are very sophisticated players who, unlike Manafort, are known to be cautious in their dealings.  Another possible explanation could be that Mueller is trying to wind down his investigation by shedding collateral cases. That would be good news for the Administration, but again there are not much in these tea leaves to read on such issues.

 

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