Trump References Al Capone In Important History Lesson

The president’s tweeting about Al Capone! So let’s take a little history lesson (from The New Republic):

Capone was a gangster but the government couldn’t prove it, so they used the charge of income tax evasion to put him behind bars. This clearly parallels the way that Mueller is using money laundering charges to put the squeeze on Paul Manafort, likely in an effort to get him to provide evidence on Russian interference. Bringing up Capone cuts against Trump’s claim that Mueller is conducting a witch hunt because it reminds us that federal prosecutors often use the broad sweep of the law against offenders.

Classic move from the feds here using the broad sweep of the law, as they say, to trap and grill Manafort. Trump tweets a lot of wild shit and there’s only so many different things you can say about it, so I thought it a better opportunity to look at the larger investigation and subsequent Manafort situation.

Reminder — mugshot!

Ostrich jacket!

The Manafort case will mostly be a bunch of boring money laundering mumbo jumbo. The important thing to takeaway is that it is simply, for the investigation, a means to an end.

Trump still not happy with the trial nor the investigation.

Which may seem like typical Trump fun and games, but does wade dangerously into the waters of obstruction of justice (ie: a president attempting to disrupt an ongoing special investigation).

Who knows if there was or wasn’t collusion between Team Trump and the Russians, but Bob Mueller and his investigation’s job is to find out. And they will continue to do things like trap and grill the Paul Manaforts of the world in an effort to do that.

PS — It’s Alphonse* Capone.