Jed Shugerman was quoted in a Business Insider article about former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn’s plea deal.
The plea means Flynn is cooperating with Mueller’s team, experts said, adding that several other targets — including President Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., and his senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner — could all be in Mueller’s crosshairs.
Soon after Flynn entered his guilty plea in federal court, ABC News reported, citing a source close to Flynn, that he was prepared to testify against Trump.
“This indicates that there is significant cooperation against much bigger targets,” Jed Shugerman, a Fordham University law professor, told Business Insider. “And you can speculate over who those targets are, but someone like Mueller is not just going to take a Flynn plea deal to cooperate laterally. This deal is narrowed to such a minor charge that it is clear it is in return for very significant cooperation against a much larger figure.”
Though more information related to Flynn could be forthcoming, Shugerman said Mueller may also decide to “keep his cards close to his chest” while he is still interviewing people such as Kushner or Trump Jr.
“Mueller does better by not releasing too much information now that Flynn has given it to him because it allows him to use that information strategically as he’s interviewing other witnesses,” he said.