The GOP's investigations into the largely-debunked "Uranium One" scandal, into potential corruption at the FBI and now into Christopher Steele, the British spy who authored the infamous "golden showers" dossier about President Donald Trump gave special counsel Bob Mueller more evidence — but not for what you'd think.
According to former federal prosecutor Seth Waxman, these investigations paint a large portrait of conspiracy, rather than obstruction of justice.
"There's been a lot of talk about obstruction," Waxman said during a Friday evening appearance on MSNBC. "The way I see it, there is a much more powerful way that Bob Mueller can use this evidence — that would be as direct evidence of a conspiracy, the conspiracy between the Russians and the Trump campaign to win that election."
"Aconspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more people to take part in illegal conduct, and then acts in furtherance of that conduct," the former prosecutor explained. "But there's a secondary principle that's very important here: if those co-conspirators take actions to protect the conspiracy from law enforcement, or conceal the activities or steps that's they're taking, that is also direct evidence of the conspiracy and can be charged as such."
"Let's use the example of [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions: he's asked not to recuse himself and what does Donald Trump say? 'I need you here to protect me.' Protect me from whom? Of course, law enforcement. That's a classic conspiratorial statement that would fit perfectly in a conspiracy charge," Waxman continued.
Mueller, he concluded, is likely "looking at this evidence, not only as potential stand-alone obstruction charges but also as what are called 'overt acts in furtherance of a conspiracy' that could include Donald Trump and all the other players we've been hearing about."
Watch below, via MSNBC: