MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle connects the dots in latest Mueller indictment to tie Trump directly to Putin

On Wednesday, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle laid out how special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is becoming "clearer by the indictment."

Tuesday's guilty plea by Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan, she said, reveals direct connections between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Van der Zwaan, 33, is married to the daughter of Russian oligarch German Khan, a close Putin confederate and ally. He formerly worked at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which lobbied U.S. officials on behalf of exiled Ukrainian ex-president Viktor Yanukovych -- at the request of former Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort.

"I want to bring your attention to the men outlined in red," Ruhle said, indicating George Papadopoulos, Mike Flynn, van der Zwaan and Rick Gates. The Los Angeles Times over the weekend that Gates will soon join the other three men in entering guilty pleas to Mueller's investigation.

Van der Zwaan's father in law, German Khan is the head of Russia's Alfabank, which was named in the Steele dossier as a major launderer of Russian mob money.

Flynn, Ruhle said, lied about his contacts with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, "but we don't even need to go that far. Flynn attended a paid speaking event in Russia without getting permission from the proper authorities."

At that engagement -- also attended by the Green Party's Jill Stein -- Flynn sat at the same table as Pres. Putin.

Watch the video, embedded below: