On Friday, along with new rumors, replacing the old rumors, to suggest that Robert Mueller will not release any report next can another bit of news that seems genuinely curious. As reported in the New York TImes, Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen is still having conversations with federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York to inform them about issues related to the Trump Organization.
What makes this particularly odd is that Michael Cohen has already been sentenced. Michael Cohen is already on his way to jail—though his original March 1 reporting date has been moved back a smidge to allow more time for him to appear before Congress. So it would seem that Michael Cohen’s incentive to spill any more beans is pretty limited. However, he does have at least two possible motivations for sitting down to explain what he knows. First, Cohen has been fiercely protective of information about his wife and father-in-law. So much so that the SDNY prosecutors refused to give him much credit for cooperating because he refused to answer questions about potential crimes connected to other members of his family. It’s possible that Cohen is talking now not out of a deal to alter his own sentence, but as part of an arrangement to shelter others.
It’s also possible that he’s just so mad at Donald Trump, that he welcomes the chance to burn him, even if he gains nothing but satisfaction.
Cohen’s reported testimony falls in two areas: “irregularities” at the Trump Organization, and the scheme to fatten the inaugural fund through massive donations that got spent on … something. Though there are many irregularities at the Trump Organization that could have been discussed, it seems that Cohen spoke specifically about a series of insurance claims. This might include $17 million in claims of storm damage at Mar-a-lago; damage that no one on the ground seems to recall.
The second set of questions Cohen addressed related to $900,000 handed over to Trump’s inaugural committee by venture capitalist Imaad Zuberi. Zuberi is just one of several characters under investigation after they made substantial contributions to the apparently limitless inaugural fund, sometimes pairing those contributions with payments to Cohen. That includes a Mar-a-lago member who for whom Trump attempted to strongarm a payment from Qatar.
These questions — about Trump’s business practices and about the activities of the inaugural committee — provide a good preview of what things might look like once Robert Mueller really does step back from the game. Because they suggest that the investigation of Trump is only warming up.
Should Mueller actually hand back his keys in the next few weeks and provide some form of report to attorney general William Barr, it will be the end of the formal special counsel investigation. But it absolutely won’t be the end of the investigation into corrupt practices at Trump’s business, his poorly-disguised attempts to solicit money for services, or connections to Russia and other governments. It’s been clear from early days of the investigation that Mueller has been handing over information on related cases to state and federal officials, purposely not keeping every case under the special counsel umbrella and definitely not shredding evidence of crimes if they didn’t fit a narrow view of his writ.
A strict interpretation of the Justice Department rules is likely to mean that any “final report” from Mueller is almost lacking in anything at all to say about Trump. But that same interpretation is unlikely to apply for charges leveled elsewhere.
Mueller may file a report in March. Even so, that report won’t be the last chance to test whether a sitting executive can be indicted. But there’s a very good chance that question will get answered.