Manafort transcripts provide a ‘real live glimpse into the mind of Mueller’ — and it’s ‘all about the Russians’: Ex-FBI agent

The FBI's former assistant director for counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi, told MSNBC on Thursday that the transcripts from Paul Manafort's trial reveal a "real live glimpse into the mind of Mueller" and the focus of the special counsel's investigation.

Figliuzzi joked that the Deep State conspiracy theorists' argument that Manafort and his associates would be painted "as liars and as agents of a foreign power" had been proved right, just not in the way they expected. A federal judge agreed that Manafort was "lying about some of the most important issues at the heart of the special counsel investigation."

More important was what the transcripts suggested about Mueller's focus.

"We've got a real-live glimpse into the mind of Mueller through the statements of [special counsel investigator] Andrew Weissmann in this transcript saying what Manafort is lying about is at the heart of the inquiry," he said. "What's the heart of the inquiry? This is all about Russians. This is all about whether a foreign adversarial government meddled with, influenced our campaign and did so at their behest."

"This is no more conjecture on our part, it's looking more and more like a quid pro pro was at hand here," Figliuzzi went on. "We know Manafort has given polling data to the Russians. We know there was discussions about policy towards Ukraine, Crimea. Is that what we're talking about?

"And now what I call the why of the lies, why are so many people lying about so many things about Russia?" he continued. "Is it in fact that the truth is so damaging to this president, that it can never come out?"

The big question was "whether the gap is closed between the president and his underlings," Figliuzzi said. He added that he believed that Trump was "quite likely" brief on "what the Russians are doing for us and what we're doing in exchange for them," and said Trump's involvement may have been even deeper.

"That's the unanswered question. That's why we've got a Bob Mueller," he said. "That's what we're waiting to hear."

Watch the video below.