What Mueller's probe has already revealed about Trump

by Julian Zelizer

Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, and author, with Kevin Kruse, of the new book "Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974." Follow him on Twitter at @julianzelizer.

The Mueller report is finally done and has been turned over to the attorney general. Now the public waits to find out what it says and how Washington will react (what, for example, will Congressional investigators do next?).

But the damage that the investigation has alreadyinflicted should not be underestimated. Five high-level officials, including President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, have been convicted or pleaded guilty, most of them after lying about their interaction with Russians. Roger Stone, Trump's longtime adviser, is going to stand trial.

This cadre of men implicated in serious wrongdoing has already revealed the President's comfort with surrounding himself with unsavory characters -- people willing to forge connections with individuals tied to a foreign government interfering with our election.

The response of the President to the investigation has been equally revealing. As the probe intensified, Trump aggressively went after the investigators. He lambasted officials looking into what had gone wrong and spread disinformation and conspiracy theories to discredit the inquiry, rather than support its quest for the truth.

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