New indictments arising from the ongoing Russia investigation have exposed corruption in President Trump’s inner circles. As of August 21, 2018, both Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chair, and Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, faced legal action directly stemming from the investigation. Robert Mueller, special council for the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election, indicted both parties for multiple counts of tax and bank fraud.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty to the charges, faced five counts of tax fraud, one count for a fraudful financial statement and two counts for unlawful campaign financing. In court, Cohen stated that a candidate for federal office had encouraged him to disregard campaign finance laws, potentially implying that President Trump directed his action. In response, President Trump tweeted, “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!”

Meanwhile, Manafort was found guilty on five counts of tax fraud, two of bank fraud, and one for failing to declare a foreign bank account. He faces up to 80 years in prison. Last Friday, Manafort pled guilty to the two charges of conspiracy against the United States

Both indictments come as a result of Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia. Although Manafort is not charged with counts relating to his involvement with Russia, he has multiple ties to Russia, including time spent lobbying for Russian interests while overseas in Ukraine. Manafort confirmed that he worked for Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire with close ties to Putin, and attended a meeting with Russians in Trump Tower. Prosecutors say Manafort’s actions during the time of Russian involvement with the election may make him a knowledgeable witness about Russia’s ties to the election.

While the first steps towards impeachment would have to be initiated by the House of Representatives rather than by Mueller, this string of indictments caused news consultants and politicians to wonder if the Democrats could win back the House in November and push for impeachment articles. David Vega ’20, co-head of Hotchkiss Political Union, said, “If the Manafort and Cohen trials show that Trump himself was involved, then I think there will be impeachment proceedings. If it shows that Cohen acted on his own or Manafort acted on his own without any kind of assistance from the President, which seems unlikely to me, I think there will be no indictment proceedings.”