Special counsel, Democrats step up pressure on Trump over Russia, Assange

 

Special counsel, Democrats step up pressure on Trump over Russia, Assange

By
Barry Grey

1 December 2018

The latest moves by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation underscore the close coordination between the former FBI director and dominant factions of the military/intelligence establishment, which, in alliance with the Democratic Party, are using the fabricated charges of Russian “meddling” and alleged Trump campaign collusion to pressure Trump into pursuing an even more provocative and reckless policy against Russia.

This campaign is increasingly combined with an effort by Mueller to frame up WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on espionage or conspiracy charges. The aim is to force Assange from his enforced refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, so that British authorities can arrest him and extradite him to the US, where he already faces federal charges that carry a possible death sentence.

This week’s moves by Mueller also highlight the reactionary substance of the Democratic Party’s opposition to the right-wing Trump administration.

On Thursday morning, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” pled guilty in Manhattan to a charge brought by Mueller of lying to Congress. Cohen has been cooperating with Mueller’s prosecutors since he pled guilty last August to violations of campaign finance laws in connection with an election-eve payoff to silence two women who claimed they had had sexual relations with the then-Republican presidential candidate. Cohen also pled guilty in August to unrelated charges of financial fraud.

In statements made to the US district judge and legal filings by the special counsel’s office, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about negotiations carried out during the 2016 election campaign between the Trump…

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