Back to the Russia Probe: WaPo Reports Pre-Dawn Raid on the Home of Trump Campaign Chairman

FILE - In this July 17, 2016 file photo, Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland as Rick Gates listens at back left. Emails obtained by The Associated Press shed new light on the activities of a firm run by Donald Trump’s campaign chairman. They show it directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country’s pro-Russian government. Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents as required under federal law. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Let’s not forget there’s still an investigation regarding Russian interference in our 2016 election going on.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday of a pre-dawn FBI raid on the home of former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort in late July.

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Federal agents appeared at Paul Manafort’s home without advance warning in the predawn hours of July 26, the day after he met voluntarily with the staff for the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The search warrant was wide-ranging and FBI agents working with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III departed the home with various records.

The raid came as Manafort has been voluntarily producing documents to congressional committees investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. The search warrant indicates investigators may have argued to a federal judge they had reason to believe Manafort could not be trusted to turn over all records in response to a grand jury subpoena.

Some of the documents seized had already been turned over to Congress, but it appears Mueller’s men were not taking any chances.

Speaking of Mueller, this raid comes in conjunction with investigations into Manafort’s personal and professional dealings, which may not be directly linked to the more specific Russia probe.

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The concern within Manafort’s circle is that Mueller is putting on the pressure, in order to force him to attempt to make a deal – divulge information on other members of Trump’s team – to take the focus off of himself.

Manafort has provided documents to both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate and House intelligence committees. The documents are said to include notes Manafort took while attending a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016.

How far this goes may depend on how deeply invested Manafort may still be with the Trump administration.

And to be fair, just how much information of use to the investigation he may (or may not) have.

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