Ostrich jacket, fake rallies, therapy dogs and other odd scenes in Trump-Russia probe
Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

Question: What do you get when you combine Russian agents, a therapy dog and a $15,000 ostrich-skin jacket?

Answer: A criminal investigation that could decide the fate of a U.S. president.

Donald Trump’s presidency has produced no shortage of eyebrow-raising moments - such as the former acting head of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, saying that Trump might be a Russian asset.

And U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has turned up some surreal anecdotes as he examines whether the 2016 Trump election campaign worked with Russia to win the White House.

Some of those episodes resemble reality television, fitting perhaps because Trump was once the star of his own show, “The Apprentice.” Moments of heightened drama appeared to be legitimate, but in fact involved paid actors and off-site directors.

On July 9, 2016, a Facebook group called United Muslims of America staged a rally in Washington to support the Republican presidential nominee’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. One of the attendees held a sign featuring Clinton’s image and a quote: “I think Sharia Law will be a powerful new direction of freedom.”

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