Probe into Trump campaign and Russia uses methods that brought down the mob
A team of 16 lawyers experienced in complex criminal cases are looking for other transgressions to trip Trump up, such as money laundering or tax evasion
Washington — The former FBI director leading the probe into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia is taking a page from the playbook federal prosecutors have used for decades in criminal investigations, from white-collar fraud to mob racketeering: follow the money; start small and work up; see who will "flip" and testify against higher-ups by pursuing charges such as tax evasion, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Special counsel Robert Mueller — himself a veteran prosecutor — has assembled a team of 16 lawyers experienced in complex criminal cases for his investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential campaign. They even staged a dramatic early-morning raid in late July on the home of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort — a classic shock-and-awe tactic reminiscent of raids the FBI used against four hedge funds in an insider-trading probe in 2010, and earlier against mobsters, such as John Gotti, head of the ...
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