OPINION | Here's why Mueller might already have Trumps tax returns
Based on my years of experience conducting complex white-collar investigations as a federal prosecutor, it suggests to me that Mueller has already obtained tax returns as part of his investigation.
As a starting point, the fact that Mueller obtained a search warrant indicates that he presented evidence to a federal judge, who concluded that there was probable cause in other words, a good reason to believe that a federal crime was committed and that evidence of that crime was in Manafort's home.
ically taking an aggressive, public action like sending the FBI to search a subject's home is not an early step in an investigation. A prosecutor would first take steps that can be done covertly, without the subject knowing, to gather evidence that can serve as the basis for more aggressive actions like search warrants.
One typical step that federal prosecutors take near the beginning of white-collar investigations is obtaining tax returns. I worked with federal prosecutors who obtained tax returns in every single white-collar investigation they worked on. I didn't do that, but I obtained tax returns in most white-collar cases I investigated, particularly cases involving financial transactions.
Obtaining a subject's tax returns can be a useful tool in almost any investigation. They tell you where the person invests their money, where their bank accounts are, where they have debts and who they've given money to. Often the information found in a tax return can tell a prosecutor which financial institutions and corporate entities to subpoena for records.
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