Manafort, Gates indicted on 12 felony counts - Manafort turns himself in - no mention of Trump campaign

If you're like most political watchers, this morning's indictments are no real surprise. Pretty much everyone assumed this was coming. I saw someone over on Twitter describe former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as the free center square on Robert Mueller's bingo card. That's an apt description, and Manafort's business partner, Rick Gates, is essentially in the same boat. That said, I'm willing to bet that lefties are a bit disappointed today. They're crowing about "dominoes falling," but none of the alleged crimes are connected to the Trump campaign. In fact, the campaign is never even mentioned in the documents. You can view the entire indictment HERE, but these are the bullet points:

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates are charged with conspiracy against the US https://t.co/a8CLL1ZhXh pic.twitter.com/Ab8ymD9BDM

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 30, 2017

If the leftist holy grail is an official accusation that Trump colluded with Russia, there's little here that helps them toward their goal. I wouldn't call this a nothingburger, but it's certainly not as "read-meaty" as Dems were probably hoping it would be. The "conspiracy against the United States Government" charge sounds good, and will certainly be all over anti-Trump newscasts, but it's not the presidency-destroying bombshell they'd like to see. The biggest question raised by the indictment is: "Are these charges designed to pressure targets into flipping on something else." We won't know that until we see how Manafort and Gates react. Also telling will be who - if anyone - is next on the Mueller hit list. If more and more Trump associates face similar charges, and if any of those charges are directly tied to the campaign, things would change substantially. There's a fair amount of scuttlebutt suggesting that Mike Flynn will soon be facing a similar situation but, for now, that's just a rumor.

Q: What's the "conspiracy against the United States" charge about?

A: Failure to file reports, FARA violations, false statements. pic.twitter.com/1JYqFKzIL2

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) October 30, 2017

Manafort has already surrendered himself to the FBI and we're waiting for Gates to do the same. They're scheduled to appear before a judge today at 1:30. More as it develops...

Manafort just walked into the FBI field office in D.C., using the front door (via CNN). https://t.co/n8TOn7j8wF

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 30, 2017