Does Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller have a political bias? (Part Six)

Having taken a look at the investigation into the IRS targeting of conservatives,  I thought we might jump forward to the current Russia Collusion investigation to see if we can see any signs of political bias.

First, we need to be clear that this investigation is still underway so we cannot say with certainty what Mueller will end up doing, but this quote from Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a nonprofit government watchdog group, caught my eyes:

“One, I don’t think that Bob Mueller is investigating Podesta as deeply as he’s investigating Manafort. We haven’t seen a raid,” Boehm said. “And two, it’s not against the law to represent sleazeballs. In Washington, it’s a growth industry. Sometimes foreign sleazeballs have more money, because they’re leaders of countries.”

Podesta leans democrat and Manafort was Trump's prior campaign chairman. Why would Mueller investigate one more deeply then the other?

Politico reports:

"Podesta has long been a larger than life figure on K Street, growing his business from a boutique firm into a massive lobbying and public relations operation. He is well known for his flashy dressing, vast art collection, generous campaign donations across all levels of Democratic politics and, of course, for his brother John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman."

The New York Times reports:

"By President Obama’s second year in office, domestic lobbying revenues for the Podesta Group had risen to more than $29 million"

So what did Podesta have to do with the Russia Collusion investigation? CNN explains it this way:

"The Podesta Group, along with Manafort's firm, were tasked with leading an PR effort on behalf of a group called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine.

The ECFMU was a non-profit group whose true goal was allegedly to soften the Obama administration's opposition to the pro-Russian Ukrainian government in power at the time. The Podesta Group, along with Manafort's firm, were tasked with leading that effort on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. 

The Podesta Group didn't properly file disclosure forms detailing the 32 meetings it had with government officials at the State Department and the Vice President's office on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, according to CNN reporting."

The New York Times reports:

"the Podesta Group, to win support for the agenda of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the Russia-aligned former president of Ukraine, were cited in an indictment handed down last month against two former campaign aides to Mr. Trump, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, who arranged the Ukrainian lobbying work."

Newsweek said Mueller's investigation was:

"looking into whether the Podesta Group may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires people or companies that lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political parties to file disclosures with the Justice Department

 "People who willfully neglect to register as foreign agents can face up to five years in prison."

It seems like Podesta was a frequent flyer when it comes to possible FARA violations because The Daily Caller reported:

" Tony Podesta’s lobbying firm, the Podesta Group, represented the Russian-owned company Uranium One during former President Barack Obama’s administration and did not register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, The Daily Caller News Foundation has determined.Podesta collected lobbying fees of $180,000 from Uranium One, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, that discloses lobbying documents filed with Congress. The uranium company states on its web site it is a “wholly owned subsidiary” of RUSANO, the Russian State Corporation for Nuclear Energy."

Since Manafort was charged under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for activities Podesta was also involved in - if their was no political bias, then I would expect to see Podesta charged as well - all things being equal. We cannot make judgement on this yet simply because the Russia Collusion investigation is still underway - charges may come yet.