White House Watch: The Trump Administration Reacts to the Manafort Indictment

The White House is walking a tightrope in its attempt to distance the president and his campaign from Monday’s big developments in the special counsel investigation into Russian interference. “Today's announcement has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the president's campaign or campaign activity,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said at her Monday afternoon briefing.

That’s narrowly correct if Sanders is referring to the indictments of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates on 12 counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, failure to file financial disclosures, failure to register as foreign agents, and false statements therein.