10 takeaways from Mueller’s shock-and-awe gambit

… the biggest bombshell of Monday — the real October Surprise — is that former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos agreed to a plea deal and admitted to making a false statement to FBI investigators about his contacts with foreigners claiming to have high-level Russian connections.

“The charges are striking for their breadth, touching all levels of the Trump campaign and exploring the possible personal, financial wrongdoing of those involved, as well as what appeared to be a concerted effort by one campaign official to arrange a meeting with Russian officials …

[Mueller’s] opening bid is a remarkable show of strength,” Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes explain on their Lawfare blog. “He has a cooperating witness from inside the campaign’s interactions with the Russians. And he is alleging not mere technical infractions of law but astonishing criminality on the part of Trump’s campaign manager …

— Here are 10 takeaways from Mueller’s opening gambit:

1. We now know that multiple members of the Trump campaign at least entertained the idea of getting help from the Russians.

2. Sam Clovis is about to be in the hot seat.

3. Papadopoulos is helping the government, but we still don’t know how much.

4. The updated timeline raises a host of new questions about what Trump knew and when he knew it.

5. Mueller is playing hardball as he tries to flip Manafort and Gates.

6. Mueller’s moves are designed to send a message to everyone else entangled in the probe that he’s not messing around.

7. Unsealing the guilty plea was an insurance policy that makes it politically untenable for Trump to fire Mueller.

8. Yesterday’s indictments will contribute to a climate of fear in the White House that makes it harder for Trump and his staff to be effective.

9. Mueller has proven that his investigation is not partisan.

10. The indictments cast fresh doubts on Trump’s judgment and his discernment in surrounding himself with good people.

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