Below is my column in USA Today on the Rick Gates indictment and his potential as a witness for the prosecution in the Mueller investigation. The other obvious concern for the defense should be General Michael Flynn. It is curious that there was no indictment of Flynn given his similar alleged violations involving work as a foreign agent. Flynn would also be a natural target for prosecutors in seeking cooperative witnesses. With George Papadopoulos’ plea and cooperation, other witnesses will start to consider whether they will get a chair when the music stops. The President’s attack on Papadopoulos certainly sends a chilling message for those who might follow his lead, but these are heavy potential charges for potential targets.
Here is the column:
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the Manafort indictment. Details continue to unfold in the Mueller investigation, particularly after the plea agreement with George Papadopoulos, 30. While Papadopoulos is clearly cooperating and could spell bad news for the the White House, the Manafort indictment was conspicuously removed from the Trump campaign. Mueller appears to have bagged a former high-ranking Trump campaign official, but the center of gravity of the criminal complaint remains far afield from the White House.
George Papadopoulous is the ultimate man in the middle. He is sitting above between Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump during the campaign — around the time when Trump was touting the young oil and gas adviser as one of his key foreign affairs advisers. Now he is the man in the middle of President Trump and Robert Mueller and that is not an ideal place to be when the stakes could be the White House itself. Papadopoulous got a taste of his new life with a tweet from President Trump calling him a liar. It was a curious attack since Trump had previously labeled this “liar” as an “excellent” guy.
Professor Joseph Mifsud has been described as a “Russian stooge,” a “KGB cutout,” and an intelligence handler. Not since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of Professor James Moriarty as the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes has an academic emerged as such a shadowy and sinister figure. Mifsud however has gone public to declare that his apparent love for one of the world’s most bloodsoaked authoritarian figures, Vladimir Putin, has left him with a clear and clean conscience. What is clear is that the Lond-based Mifsud had no qualms in serving as a conduit for dirt on Hillary Clinton and an effective asset of the Putin regime.
The death of Marisa Harris, 22, proved to be a terrible tragedy matched only by its sheer irony. Harris was a Marymount University graduate student who committed her life to working with depressed teens. Her life was cut short when a depressed 12-year-old boy reportedly jumped from an interstate overpass and hit her car.
Last night, the media was thrown into a frenzy with news that special counsel Robert Mueller has secured the first charges in his investigation into Russian election interference. Despite the fact that the name or names of those indicted have not been released and the specific charges were not disclosed, the report was heralded as a breakthrough moment in the Russian investigation. CNN contributor David Gergen stated “Well, it certainly looks like the dam is starting to break now.” It could be and then again it might not be. Again, the breathless desire among some commentators is out-stripping the available information. For months, many of us have been saying that it was extremely unlikely that Mueller would assemble this huge prosecutorial team and spend millions without charging someone on something. The core question is whether he is going to move on the two primary allegations in the Russian investigation — collusion and obstruction — that might implicate Trump or his family. In other words, we may have to wait for the arrest or surrender to know if Mueller has unveiled a mountain or a molehill.
Yesterday, we discussed 
Rebecca Palmer, 26, has gone from scorn to “stir” in a false rape case. The English woman had consensual sex with a twenty-two year old soldier based in Tidworth but he later “rejected her.” She proceeded to develop an elaborate false record to accuse him of rape. The police fortunately were able to find clues that the record was manufactured and arrested Palmer. 
Indiana homeowner Billy Swaggerty has a simple piece of advice for his fellow citizens after sixteen guns were stolen from his home:
Senator Robert Menendez and his close friend Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, are heading to a jury decision after 
The crime charged against Christopher Wilson, 37 was tragically all too obvious . . . as it is likely to be for the jury. Wilson is an Ohio man 
Kyle Adam Maraghy has been arrested after a viral videotape shows him beating a 62-year-old man who simply asked him to sit down at the recent Panthers-Philadelphia game. Maraghy and his girlfriend represent the worst of fans today at stadiums. As we have previously discussed, I do not go with my family to football games because of all of the loud and obnoxious drunks in the stands. In this case, however, Maraghy, 26, is facing jail time for his unprovoked and brutal assault, though not nearly as much as he should be facing.