CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin noted Monday that the Donald Trump campaign is not mentioned in the federal indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his longtime business partner Richard Gates.
The 31-page, 12-count indictment against Manafort and Gates is on "conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts."
In the first charges filed in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling Russia investigation, however, Trump and allegations of collusion with the Russians to interfere in the 2016 election are not mentioned.
"The Trump campaign is not mentioned in this indictment ... I think [that's] a very important point, and it is certainly something you will hear from the president's supporters, and I think it's a very valid point," Toobin said. "It does not include any reference to his work on the Trump campaign."
Toobin did note the indictment included statements Manafort made while he chaired Trump's campaign, which he called "highly significant," saying Mueller is alleging Manafort committed crimes during that time.
The indictment of Manafort and Gates is damning on their financial dealings, but it makes no mention of Trump, collusion or the campaign
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) October 30, 2017
CNN host John Berman said the indictment could still be used to try to get information about the Trump campaign.
"Absolutely," Toobin said. "Just because an indictment has been filed doesn't mean that's the only indictment that will be filed. There's something called a superseding indictment where you can add charges against the same defendant, so we are not at the end of the process by any means."