THE BIG STORY ... DON JR. BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS -- NYT'S MARK MAZZETTI, RONEN BERGMAN and DAVID KIRKPATRICK: "Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election": "Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son. One was an Israeli spehcialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor.

"The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months — past the election and well into President Trump's first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters.

"Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his company's ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr. Trump. ...

"The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign in the months before the presidential election. The interactions are a focus of the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III." https://nyti.ms/2k9pBqL

-- WSJ'S BYRON TAU and REBECCA BALLHAUS: "The work of two of Mr. Zamel's companies -- Wikistrat and the Psy Group -- has increasingly drawn the interest of the special counsel as part of the continuing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Little is known publicly about the work of the Psy Group. According to a person familiar with the firm's operations, it did mainly private intelligence gathering work. ...

"According to the firm's marketing materials reviewed by the Journal, Psy-Group offered clients an array of services—including 'honey traps,' a term used by spy agencies for an intelligence-gathering tactic using romantic or sexual relationships to extract information." https://on.wsj.com/2IO5psD ... The marketing materials https://on.wsj.com/2KFF5Ow

None of those indictment had to do with collusion. As for Flynn pleading guilty, many would have done that when faced with their family being persecuted and family robbed of their funds and dignity. I know of three that had at least some small part in the Trump campaign that pled guilty to lying to the FBI and that could had meant they thought the day had been bright and shinning but was in fact cloudy. Hmmm and then faced with their family being put into jeopardy. These people using the investigation to try to bully people to lie to protect their family and friends from the wrath of false allegations. All of those indicted were indicted for things not connected to the campaign.

None of those indictment had to do with collusion. As for Flynn pleading guilty, many would have done that when faced with their family being persecuted and family robbed of their funds and dignity. I know of three that had at least some small part in the Trump campaign that pled guilty to lying to the FBI and that could had meant they thought the day had been bright and shinning but was in fact cloudy. Hmmm and then faced with their family being put into jeopardy. These people using the investigation to try to bully people to lie to protect their family and friends from the wrath of false allegations. All of those indicted were indicted for things not connected to the campaign.

Rosenstein specified the limits of the investigation, but he made one monumental mistake, followed by a succession of violations of DOJ regulations and unconstitutional maneuvers that now have him on the hot seat.

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein violated the appointments clause of Article II, Section 2 of the constitution by appointing an independent special counsel to operate without supervision, which means Mueller is acting as a Principle Officer of the United States.

The Attorney General, deputy AG, associate AGs and all US Attorneys are Principle Officers of the United States. Only the president has the constitutional authority to appoint, "with the advice and consent of the senate", a Principle Officer of the United States.

A Principle Officer of the United States cannot act outside the authority of his office. All Principle Officers of the United States are subject to the appointing authority and are duty bound to obey its supervisory instructions. In the case of the Mueller investigation, Rosenstein IS NOT supervising Mueller, he is rubber stamping every thing he does. Mueller is acting far outside his authority, he is a loose cannon.

References:
Article II, Section 2, US Constitution.
DOJ regulation 64 Fed. Reg. 37038
Deputy AG Rosenstein letter of appointment (ORDER NO. 3915-2017)
Title 18, Chapter VI, 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) (b) (c). (Special counsel jurisdiction)
Justice Scalia dissent in Morrison v. Olson
Pepperdine University Constitutional Law professor, Douglas Kmiec on special counsel appointments.
Northwestern Law School Professor Steven Calabresi on special counsel appointments

Mueller is not an inferior appointee, but a principal appointee as understood under our constitutional. His powers are more akin to an United States attorney, not an assistant United States attorney. Moreover, his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, treats him as a principal officer — that is, Mueller is mostly free to conduct his investigation with few limits or restraints. The parameters of his appointment were extraordinarily broad in the first instance, and have only expanded since then.

Indeed, Mueller is more powerful than most United States attorneys, all of whom were nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate as principal officers. Furthermore, Rosenstein mostly rubber stamps Mueller’s decisions and is not involved in the regular management and oversight of Mueller to any significant extent, underscoring Mueller’s role not as an inferior officer but a principal officer. As such, Mueller’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause. Mueller would’ve had to be nominated for Senate confirmation like any other principal officer in the Executive Branch. Rosenstein did not have the constitutional power to appoint a principal officer on his own anymore than the President himself does. To do otherwise is to defy the procedure established by the Framers for making such consequential executive appointments. It follows, then, that every subpoena, indictment, and plea agreement involving the Mueller investigation is null and void. Every defendant, suspect, witness, etc., in this matter should challenge the Mueller appointment as a violation of the Appointments Clause.