Mueller probe plunders New York tabloid swamp
The inquiry wanders into ‘the New York politics version of the Star Wars bar’
By DANA RUBINSTEIN AND LAURA NAHMIAS | 08/27/18 05:00 AM EDT
A foul-mouthed taxi kingpin with a history of defrauding state government. A salon owner who ran a prostitution ring before running for governor. A comedian who was the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf.
They’re all longstanding New York fringe characters, and they’ve all been pulled into Robert Mueller’s web, giving the wide-ranging investigation that has Washington on edge a distinctly New York tinge.
“They’re kinda exactly the trio you would expect at the New York politics version of the Star Wars bar,” said Neal Kwatra, a Democratic political consultant, referring to the Mos Eisley Cantina on the fictional planet of Tatooine. “Weird, wild and par for our current course.”
Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is forcing the special counsel and his colleagues to wade into a New York tabloid swamp, a habitat where outlandish behavior flourishes, particularly if it’s accompanied by ambition and greed. It’s all very New York — “the irresistible destination of all those who insist on being where things are happening” that Tom Wolfe wrote about in `The Bonfire of the Vanities’ and Donald Trump helped popularize.
That habitat is populated by those who have been nationally prominent for months now — Michael Cohen and Roger Stone, two of Trump’s closest confidants — as well as more local celebrities like one-time taxi overlord Evgeny Freidman, former flesh-peddler Kristin Davis and comedian Randy Credico. In recent months, they’ve gotten a taste of national fame too.
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https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/new-york-politics-star-wars-bar/
