AP is reporting that Mueller has interviewed Tom Barrack, who is a close friend and supporter of Trump:
One of the people who spoke to AP said the questioning focused entirely on two officials from Trump’s campaign who have been indicted by Mueller: Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manafort’s onetime deputy, Rick Gates. Gates agreed to plead guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statement charges in February and began cooperating with investigators.
A second person with knowledge of the Barrack interview said the questioning was broader, including financial matters about the campaign, the transition and Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
Tom Barrack is a real-estate developer who has ties with Trump that go back decades. He was a major fundraiser for Trump’s campaign and he directed Trump’s not-so-massive inauguration.
According to AP, Rick Gates worked for Barrack while he was chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Clearly, Barrack will have plenty of information on Manafort, Gates, and Trump to provide to Mueller and his team.
By all accounts, Barrack is one of Trump’s closest friends and confidants. Mueller is moving closer and closer to Trump. First, he went after Trump’s long-time personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and now he is going after Trump’s longtime friends. It’s only a matter of time before Mueller gets to Trump’s family. Perhaps this is why Rudy Giuliani was talking about Mueller interviewing Ivanka Trump during his Fox-News meltdowns this past week. Maybe Guiliani knows that Ivanka is next up, and he was trying to get out in front of the news like he claimed he was doing on the reimbursement of the Stormy Daniels payoff.
In any case, this is just more proof that Mueller is patiently circling his prey, getting closer and closer with each revolution. It’s only a matter of time before he decides to strike. And given his skilled approach so far, it’s unlikely his prey is going to be able to escape.
