With 187 active criminal charges or convictions against dozens of people and three companies involved in the 2016 elections, the Mueller investigation, is an American counterintelligence investigation, probing for any Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The investigation also searches for any possible connections between President Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government as well as a existing investigations such as those against convicted felon, Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, and Michael Flynn, former security advisor to  President Trump.

The Mueller investigation recently charged Roger Stone, Republican ally and long-time informal advisor to President Trump, with obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements. Stone pleaded not guilty.  According to the Washington Post, there have been “52 counts of conspiracy of some kind, 113 criminal counts of aggravated identity theft or identity fraud, and four guilty pleas for making false statements.”  The Post also stated that 25 Russian nationals have been charged with crimes,s along with three Russian business entities. Those individuals were charged in two indictments, one focused on Russia’s alleged effort to foster divisiveness on social media and one focused on alleged hacking”

The new surge of charges raises questions of whether or not Mueller is getting closer to publicly releasing even more convictions. The White House staff were quick to point out that it indicated that it meant the investigation would soon be drawing to a close.

The big question, however, is how closely this all ties to President Trump. As the New York Times recently said, “The FBI conducts two types of inquiries, criminal and counterintelligence investigations,” and in this case “the criminal and counterintelligence elements were coupled together into one investigation.”  The NY Times said that “Unlike criminal investigations, which are typically aimed at solving a crime and can result in arrests and convictions, counterintelligence inquiries are generally fact-finding missions to understand what a foreign power is doing and to stop any anti-American activity, like thefts of United States government secrets or covert efforts to influence policy.  In most cases, the investigations are carried out quietly, sometimes for years. Often, they result in no arrests.”

This complex two-prong inquiry and Mueller’s characteristic diligence suggests that no one really knows when all the cards will be on the table.