Story you might have missed over at Politico. Special Counsel Robert Mueller quietly shifted Kyle Feeney from the “Wolf of Wall Street” case and brought him onto the team investigating all things Russia and Trumpian.
Feeney had been spearheading the US Gov’s attempt to seize the prfts from the Wolf of Wall Street’s production company, because, they claim, the movie was funded with dirty money looted from the Malaysian Government.
Now is there any tie in between Feeney’s prior engagement and the current Mueller investigation? Apparently so. He’s been working for the same unit that's been investigating Paul Manafort.
Freeny's work on the movie-related case and the Manafort aspect of the Trump-Russia probe appear to have some commonalities
The Justice Department billed the "Wolf of Wall Street" case as a product of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, an effort to pursue the proceeds of foreign corruption and return such monies to the public in the affected countries.
Justice Department officials including former Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the same kleptocracy project is probing the transfer of assets overseas by Ukrainian officials, including former President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort served as a consultant to Yanukovych and his Party of Regions — work that has triggered suspicions about the former Trump campaign chief because of Yanukovych's warm relationship with Moscow.
Aside from loving the name — Kleptocracy Asset Recovery this can’t be good news everyone’s favorite Kleptocrat-maniac, Paul Manifort. And, if Mueller’s bringing in the Department’s heaviest guns it may signal that we’re getting to the prosecution strategy phase rather than the evidence gathering one. Don’t run short on popcorn as this heats up.