Whoa.
In an obvious Divine attempt to inject maximum chaos into the American political system just days before the supposed end of the world on September 23, CNN reported on Monday that investigators “wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret orders before and after the election.” Furthermore, CNN says, Manafort was tapped when he was having conversations with Trump — and Manafort had a residence at Trump Tower, so it’s utterly unclear whether the FBI tapped him at that location.
Recall that President Trump accused the Obama administration of tapping Trump Tower in January 2017.
The conversations between Manafort and Trump continued after the President took office, long after the FBI investigation into Manafort was publicly known, the sources told CNN. They went on until lawyers for the President and Manafort insisted that they stop, according to the sources. It’s unclear whether Trump himself was picked up on the surveillance.
Manafort was campaign chairman for Trump from May to August; he wasn’t surveilled during that period. After his ouster, the FBI surveillance began again. So the FBI may not have tapped Trump’s wires, but they very well might have picked him up while tapping Manafort, and they might indeed have tapped Trump Tower.
That doesn’t justify Trump’s claims — his wires weren’t tapped. But it doesn’t exactly let the FBI off the hook, either.
Meanwhile, The New York Times is reporting that special investigator Robert Mueller’s team has told Manafort that he will likely face charges. According to The Hill:
The warning, allegedly a shock-and-awe tactic, came as federal agents combed through his computer files, documents, and any other potential pieces of evidence that could help them in their federal investigation, The New York Times reported Monday, citing two people close to the investigation.
The most likely scenario with regard to possible Russian interference in the Trump campaign was always Manafort’s involvement. That’s because Manafort has long been known to have a relationship with Moscow. That still doesn’t mean Trump was guilty in any way. But it does pose a problem — if Manafort was guilty and still talking to Trump, and if those conversations with Trump were picked up via wiretap, could Trump be in danger?