IT'S A RICO CASE:

"The two greatest thing in life, never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut." Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Last November, a person close to the Trump administration speaking to the Washington Post invoked a chilling metaphor. "This investigation is a classic Gambino-style roll-up," the source said. "You have to anticipate this roll-up will reach everyone in this administration." This turns out to be a perfectly apt and quite literal description not only of the investigation, but of Trump's own ethos and organizing principles.

The way a roll-up of the Gambino family, or any other crime organization, would work is that the FBI would first find evidence of crimes against lower-level figures, and then threaten them with lengthy prison sentences unless they provide evidence against higher-ranking figures in the organization. The roll-up moves from bottom to top. It would be extremely difficult to prosecute any organized crime if it were not possible to trade lenient sentences in return for cooperation.

In an interview with Fox News, President Trump offers his view that flipping is dishonorable, and is so unfair it "almost ought to be outlawed."

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