The money is the means of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump

As ABC News reported on Friday, one particular area in Mueller’s focus is the payments Trump received towards his inauguration costs. That said, I have been confident since late last year that Mueller has at least two other focus areas related to foreign money and the Trump Organization. The most relevant concern here is the question of Trump benefiting from Russian actors who retain close links to President Vladimir Putin.

Yet Mueller’s interest in accounting records has a special significance for the special counsel in that it allows him to attempt to paint a forensic picture of a quid pro quo relationship between the Russians and the Trump Organization.

This isn’t a fishing trip in the darkness. As one source told me, “This allows Mueller to gather evidence for trial proceedings without needing to publicize sensitive intelligence community sources and methods.” The source added that this is an especially operative concern in that some of the investigative material Mueller has acquired was provided from foreign intelligence partners. Those partners demand that their information remains highly classified and out of the public domain.

What does this mean for Trump?

While the Mueller team has been portraying itself as largely disinterested in the president, that effort is a textbook example of a legal dangle designed to lure Trump or those in his inner circle into a false sense of security. In flowing vein, it’s a mistake to believe those Mueller critics (notably joined this week by Vice President Mike Pence) who claim that the special counsel is throwing out lines hoping to catch anything. The harder truth is that Mueller is a patient investigator who is biding his time and slowly painting his picture.

More indictments will arrive in the coming weeks.