There seems to be some there there

Friday’s indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three organizations answers some of the bigger outstanding legal and factual questions surrounding Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. But a number remain unanswered, including the most obvious: Were Trump campaign officials involved, or Donald Trump himself? The indictment does not answer that question.

If the allegations in the indictment are true, it would certainly dispel any lingering doubts about whether Russians interfered with the election. The scope of the alleged efforts to tip the election toward Trump, and otherwise to meddle in U.S. politics — both before and after the election — is breathtaking. We may never know whether the outcome of the election was actually affected (contrary to what Trump claims, the indictment doesn’t answer that question either), but the charges provide a devastating account of the extent off Russian efforts.

The indictment also resolves any debate over whether colluding to influence the election could be criminal. The president’s supporters have frequently claimed that, even if campaign officials did collude with Russians to impact the election, it would just be politics-as-usual, and not a crime.

But although there is no crime called collusion, in criminal law, working with others toward an unlawful end is known as conspiracy. And conspiracies to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. 371 include those that impair, obstruct, or impede lawful government functions such as carrying out a federal election. That is the legal theory that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has used to charge the Russian defendants. Although this indictment charges only Russians with taking part in that conspiracy, the same charge would potentially apply to any American co-conspirators.

As mentioned earlier, the great unanswered question is whether the conspiracy included anyone involved in the Trump campaign. And the answer is: We still don’t know. The president’s supporters will point to language in the indictment about the defendants contacting “unwitting individuals” associated with the Trump campaign. Someone who is unwittingly involved is not a co-conspirator. If Mueller had the goods on members of the campaign, wouldn’t they be included in this indictment?

Perhaps — but not necessarily. There were reports late Friday afternoon that Mueller’s inquiry into Russian meddling is not yet complete. With a grand jury investigation shrouded in secrecy, any prediction is an exercise in reading tea leaves. But there could be any number of reasons for Mueller to not yet show his full hand.

Once an indictment is returned, the grand jury’s work on the charged offenses must cease. If the investigation is not yet complete, prosecutors could choose to bring an initial indictment against Russian participants while continuing the grand jury investigation against others.

Source: Washingtonpost News