Mueller has a new partner in the Russia probe who could dramatically constrain Trump's pardon power

FBI special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly enlisted New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to help investigate President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort for financial crimes and possible money laundering.

The clearest implication of the powerhouse merger, first reported by Politico, is that Manafort wouldn't be immune from criminal prosecution even with the possibility of a pardon from Trump.

It is unclear whether Schneiderman is investigating any other New York-based Trump associates under scrutiny by the FBI, such as Trump's son Donald Jr. or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. But Trump has tweeted in the past that he has complete pardon power, which he would likely use on his family and loyal political allies — as he did with former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio — before anyone else.

Mueller seems to be preparing for that possibility by lining up "ormer FBI agent Asha Rangappa, now an associate dean at Yale Law School, wrote on Wednesday night.

Former New York Attorney General Bob Abrams, a key member of Scheiderman's transition team after his election, described the partnership as "a very significant development."

"It is always noteworthy and positive when federal and state regulators cooperate with one another," said Abrams, don't know whether this is specifically an attempt to shield the investigation from the presidents pardon power, but I believe that if there are potential crimes to be pursued under New York state law, it is perfectly appropriate for the attorney general to be investigating and cooperating with federal investigators."

One precedent for this kind of arrangement, Abrams said, was his own partnership with Rudy Giuliani when Giuliani was the US attorney for the Southern District of New York. Abrams teamed up with Giuliani in the late 1980s to investigate Harry and Leona Helmsley for tax evasion.

Mueller and Schneiderman are reportedly examining how much Manafort was paid for his decade-long role as a top adviser to Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions and its ousted leader, Viktor Yanukovych. His tendency to form shell companies — while not illegal — to purchase real estate has also raised questions about the source of his cash and where he is putting it.

Manafort has insisted that he has never received any illicit cash payments. But he has a "pattern" of using shell companies to purchase homes "in all-cash deals," as WNYC has reported, and then transferring those properties into his own name for no money and taking out large mortgages against them.

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Mueller has a new partner in the Russia probe who could dramatically constrain Trump's pardon power

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