Since Mueller could not find any Russian interference in the scope of his investigation, he has done what many loosing prosecutors do broadened the guidelines of existing laws to get more success. The Rico act was one of the same type of conveniences that prosecutors took liberties with. It gives broader base to include more people and types of actions that constitute breaking the laws.
Since this in effect says anyone who interferes with the regulatory ability of a government agency to do its job, I would expect to hear of many indictments against Hillary, Obama, Lynch, and Comey since they have many cases of interference recorded.
Mueller invokes unusual ‘conspiracy to defraud government’ charge to ensnare more targets
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/12/robert-mueller-invokes-conspiracy-defraud-governme/What has attracted attention in legal circles is the underlying legal theory behind the indictments, accusing the Russians of essentially committing a crime by preventing agencies of the U.S. government from carrying out the duties.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and his prosecutors have invoked an unusual “conspiracy to defraud the government” charge to ensnare a Russian cyber network and could use the same legal strategy to go after President Trump and his associates, even if the conspiracy is not linked to a criminal act.
“To allege that a new conspirator had joined such a conspiracy, Mueller would have to allege only that such a person — presumably a new defendant — had agreed to participate in a scheme of deceit by which the FEC, the Justice Department or the State Department was deprived of its regulatory authority,” Ms. Kohse and Mr. Wittes write.
