For special counsel Bob Mueller, it's always Halloween.

If one believes President Donald Trump's unceasing refrain that Mueller is conducting a "witch hunt," that is.

In reality, though, it's a very different matter. So far, Mueller's probe has resulted in five guilty pleas and 17 indictments. Enough witches for a Halloween parade. And things may only now be really heating up.

Now, the special counsel has charged Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's onetime campaign chairman, with witness tampering. Though it's too soon to say where this will ultimately lead, it's entirely possible that a judge will decide to revoke the current terms of Manafort's bail -- he's currently under house arrest -- and throw him in jail. If that were to happen, might the 69-year-old Manafort perhaps be at all tempted to look to strike some sort of a deal with Mueller? He's long maintained that that won't happen, of course, having vowed to fight the charges against him until the bitter end, but he could well find that such a view is a bit less sustainable from behind bars.

The first anniversary of Mueller's appointment passed last month. Though the president and his supporters seem to believe that the special counsel has accomplished little besides spending money and creating a cloud over the Trump administration, pretty much anybody else who has been paying any attention knows better.

What if the guilty pleas and indictments are only the beginning? What if they'll ultimately form the foundation of the case that Mueller will bring against those close to Trump, against his family members, perhaps against the former reality TV star turned politician himself?

Manafort, of course, is awaiting two separate trials on charges of having violated financial, tax and federal lobbying disclosure laws. When Mueller last week upped the ante by adding witness tampering to the list of Manafort's alleged misdeeds, he also charged Konstantin V. Kilimnik, Manafort's sometime right-hand- man, with having sought to influence the testimony of two men who were in a position to know the truth. Kilimnik, Manafort's longtime business associate, is believed to be in Russia, and thus beyond Mueller's reach. At least for now.

The charges against Manafort are related to activities that far preceded his time with Trump's campaign. As such, the president and his allies have sought to portray Mueller as having overreached, searching for possible criminal activity far beyond the scope of what he was appointed to investigate.

That's what is known as grasping at straws.

Herewith, a little reminder for those who are too young, or who simply don't recall what happened back in the 1990s: Ken Starr, who'd eventually ensnare President Bill Clinton over details relating to his sexual liaisons with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, had been appointed special counsel years prior -- to probe Bill and Hillary Clinton's connection to a failed Arkansas real estate venture that had begun in 1979.

In other words, a special counsel can find himself with lots of running room.

Those who'd now argue that Mueller is reaching too far, at least when it comes to Manafort, might wish to explain whether they felt the same way about Starr's probe of Clinton back in the day.

Here's a fair bet: You won't find many Republicans who were accusing Starr of conducting a witch hunt.