Special counsel Bob Mueller’s final report revealed that the investigation is far from final. Mueller referred 14 criminal matters to other prosecutors during the course of his probe, and 12 of those cases are still secret.
"During the course of the investigation, the Office periodically identified evidence of potential criminal activity that was outside the scope of the Special Counsel's jurisdiction," the report says. "After consultation with the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the Office referred that evidence to appropriate law enforcement authorities, principally other components of the Department of Justice and the FBI."
Only two of the 14 investigations are public -- former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig -- while information about the other 12 probes was redacted.
What are the other investigations?
Speculation ran rampant after the other investigations were revealed.
“It’s possible that these investigations could involve Maria Butina, the mystery foreign company owned by a mystery foreign country, Michael Flynn‘s former business partner Bijan Kian or the investigation of the Trump inauguration,” wrote Law&Crime’s Megan Hadley.
“We can make a couple conclusions from that language, if it's accurate,”wrote attorney Luppe Luppen. “SOME of Mueller's referrals came after the transcripts were released in Feb. At least one such ongoing investigation is still looking at the meeting that went to the Mueller investigation's heart.”
The entire Mueller report is an impeachment referral:
“The Mueller report conveys a strong sense that if Trump were attorney general rather than president, he would already have been indicted on a charge of obstruction of justice,” columnist Max Boot wrote in the Washington Post. "But the Justice Department insists that a president can’t be criminally charged, and for that reason, Mueller refused to broach the possibility even in internal memorandums. He did add, however, that ‘we concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice.’”
“This is practically an invitation for Congress to launch impeachment proceedings,” he added.
Columnist Yoni Applebaum echoed that sentiment in The Atlantic.
“Its most important implication can be summarized in a single sentence: There is sufficient evidence that President Donald Trump obstructed justice to merit impeachment hearings,” he wrote of the report.
“Mueller has now delivered 10 credible allegations of obstructive behavior on the part of the president. For all of Trump’s bluster, those claims are now a matter of public record, and will hang over his presidency, despite the decision of his own appointee to clear him in the matter,” he wrote. “The constitutional mechanism for resolving this situation is impeachment… The public deserves a chance to examine the evidence against him. And his supporters and opponents alike deserve the clarity that only convening impeachment hearings can now provide.”
