The federal investigation that has dogged the Trump administration for more than a year could be coming to an end after the midterm elections, according to sources close to the case.
Bloomberg cited the unnamed insiders who say Department of Justice special counsel Robert Mueller is facing increased pressure from his supervisor, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, to wrap up the probe.
The sources indicate that Mueller’s team will not release its findings prior to Election Day, but they predict that it will come shortly thereafter.
According to The Washington Examiner, the special counsel is not likely to conclude his entire investigation before the November midterm elections, which brings uncertainty about the investigation’s future as Trump has signaled he could replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the election.
There are also questions about Rosenstein’s future at the Justice Department after the New York Times reported he suggested secretly recording his conversations with Trump.
A Sessions or Rosenstein departure could bring a new boss for Mueller.
As Written By The Hill:
The House Intelligence Committee’s investigation infamously plunged into partisan infighting, resulting in Republicans unilaterally voting to end it in March and releasing a report that found no evidence that the campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government. Democrats accused their GOP colleagues of shuttering the probe prematurely and pointed to what they called ample evidence of collusion.
The investigation in the upper chamber has been markedly different, enjoying comparatively little media attention as a result of how little members have said publicly about the probe.
“What we’ve seen, and the House side is a perfect example, is when they’re not working in tandem, you generally see indications of it,” observed Steven Cash, a lawyer at Day Pitney and former Senate Intelligence Committee staff member. “If you’re looking for a bipartisan investigation, silence is golden, from the outside perspective.”