The U.S. intelligence agencies have already said the Russian government tried to help trump win the election. That, they said, is fact. 

Now, a big development overnight. 

The first big scalp as special counsel Robert Mueller looks into the Trump administration's links to Moscow.

Paul Manafort who headed up Trump's presidential campaign has been charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S. -- this is in his dealings with pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians.  

Manafort had some pretty shonky dealings with the Ukrainians and laundered millions of dollars for his efforts. Some $75 million went through is accounts, apparently. He banked about $18 million of that. He offered Russian billionaires, who were close to Putin, private briefings on the Trump campaign too. And the list goes on. 

All of these charges, at this stage, relate to Manafort's actions before he came on board with Trump. And then Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign last year after his links to the Ukraine emerged. 

Also, Rick Gates, a longtime associate of Manafort's and another Trump campaign official. he's been charged with the same -- money laundering, tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy against the U.S.

And, George Papadopoulos who was one of Trump's early foreign policy advisers. He's pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about the contact he had with the Russian government. 

It's explosive stuff -- but, perhaps not surprising. 

This is what happens when big business enters politics. Millionaires, and in Trump's case billionaires, who are used to doing deals, not doing democracy. 

Donald Trump's been on Twitter this morning. He says: "why aren't Crooked Hillary and the Dems the focus?"

Well, answer this. Why isn't policy and improving the lives of Americans and making America great again -- why isn't that the focus?

Instead, the focus has been on what must be the most morally bereft and ethically corrupt political administrations in the western world today, an investigation to uncover some of the shonky practices that undermined American democracy. Fat cats getting fatter. Fat cats pulling strings to ensure, whichever why possible, they would take over the white house. 

The Trump administration has never and will never understand its mandate. To work for the American people who voted them in to government. 

Instead, they do what they've always done. Work for themselves. And it is only they who will benefit from that.