USA Today: Mueller investigation isn’t a ‘witch hunt,’ and other reactions to Manafort verdict

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – It was only two years ago that Paul Manafort helped President Donald Trump score the Republican nomination for president.

Now, the former lobbyist and political consultant is facing a possible 80 years in prison after being convicted of eight of 18 counts in his tax and bank fraud trial – the first taken to trial by special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation of Russia meddling in the 2016 election. …

Manafort’s conviction increases the need for Congress to protect Mueller’s investigation from White House interference, said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the Common Cause, a government watchdog group.

“Justice must be allowed to run its course through the Special Counsel’s investigation,” she said. “Americans expect Congress to put country before party and exercise its oversight responsibilities to allow the full truth to be unearthed and shared with the nation.”